Disaster stressors and coping with the traumatization of deadliest hurricanes in U.S. Mainland: A follow-up study

Despite the surging research in the literature on major natural hazards globally, most research to date has been cross-sectional in nature. Also, few studies have addressed human strengths. In response to the call for longitudinal studies, this secondary analysis of a two-wave survey examined the effects of character strengths and coping on Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (H-KR) volunteers, alongside hazard-related factors and peritraumatic emotional responses. Wave-1 and Wave-2 surveys were conducted at three-months and six-months at five public universities in the Gulf Coast affected by the disaster. A total of 542 participants completed Wave-1 and 201 completed Wave 2 questionnaires, because only two universities were able to conduct the follow-up. Multivariate analyses revealed that the finding was partly consistent with a cross-sectional study on Hurricanes Maria and Michael (H-MM); both events are the deadliest storms in the United States (U.S.). This prospective study supported the last damage of peritraumatic negative emotions and hurricane stressors on traumatization. However, the desirable effect of trait optimism was not evident overtime, perhaps partly due to the significantly smaller number in Wave-2 survey. Also, the link between negative coping and trauma symptom was not replicated. Still, the finding may imply that early intervention for emotional responses will be important in future disaster relief.