Aging Families in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

处理包括飓风在内的灾难性自然灾害的社会科学文献侧重于灾害规划、救灾以及对个人和整个社区造成的压力和压力。老年家庭，特别是有特殊照顾需要的非裔美国人家庭，很少受到关注，他们通常依靠强大的亲属照顾网络和正式资源来获得日常支持。在卡特里娜飓风的情况下，撤离者面临长期的流离失所，加上与家人分离和财产损失。这场长期危机不仅对搬迁到巴吞鲁日的老年家庭成员，而且对向撤离者敞开大门的家庭和社区都构成了重大挑战。例如，来自新奥尔良和其他遭受卡特里娜飓风袭击的海湾地区的40多万居民现在把巴吞鲁日称为家园。一夜之间，城市的规模翻了一番;然而，很少有人注意到这种增长对其永久居民的影响。我们从两个理论框架-生命历程的角度和人类发展的生态模型-整合结构，以研究自然灾害后老龄化家庭的功能。将对100个老龄家庭进行采访，定义为两名或更多60岁或以上的成年人、养育孙子的祖父母，或由成年子女或其他家庭成员照顾的老年人，这些家庭因卡特里娜飓风而流离失所，以及100个长期居住在巴吞鲁日的老龄家庭，他们正在应对社区的一夜之间的转变。此外，还将邀请100个流离失所家庭在初次面谈后继续参加为期一个月的研究。那些同意的人将得到一个笔记本和一次性相机，以提供事件和决定的简要说明，因为他们建立了正常的生活感。相机是一种基本的艺术形式，它将使经常接触艺术的人能够使用熟悉的媒介捕捉他们的经历。将对归还笔记本和相机的参与者进行电话采访，以澄清任何书面信息，并获得选定图片背后的“故事”。这些数据的组合形式--文字、照片和确认性访谈--将为他们在生活中的变化提供关于他们经历的进一步见解。我们预计，个人资源（例如，教育、收入、健康、自我认知）和持续的家庭关系和其他非正式关系结合起来，解释了他们的整个家庭功能。研究结果将推进理论和理解老龄化家庭的功能能力在一个重大的自然灾害和非规范性事件后，特别是对代表性不足的群体，如穷人，非洲裔美国人和亚洲公民。 研究结果将通过科学报告、出版物和编写研究简报分发给社区领导人、服务提供者和决策者进行广泛传播。

Social science literature that addresses catastrophic natural disasters, including hurricanes has focused on disaster planning, disaster relief, and the stressors and strains placed on individuals and communities at-large. Little attention has been given to older families, especially African American families with special care needs who typically rely on a combination of a strong kinship care network and formal resources for day-to-day support. In the case of Hurricane Katrina, evacuees are facing prolonged dislocation compounded by separation from family and property loss. This long-term crisis presents significant challenges not only to older family members who relocated to Baton Rouge but also to the families and communities that opened their doors to evacuees. For example, more than 400,000 residents from New Orleans and other Gulf areas hit by Hurricane Katrina are now calling the city of Baton Rouge home. Overnight, size of the city has doubled; yet, little attention is being given to the impact this growth is having on its permanent residents. We integrate constructs from two theoretical frameworks - the life course perspective and the ecological model of human development - to examine the functioning of aging families in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Interviews will be conducted with 100 aging families, defined as two or more adults, 60 years of age or older, grandparents parenting grandchildren, or elderly persons being cared for by their adult children or other family members, who have been displaced as a result of Hurricane Katrina and 100 aging families who are long-term residents of Baton Rouge coping with the overnight transformation of their community. In addition, 100 displaced families will be invited to continue participation in the study for one-month beyond the initial interview. Those who agree will be given a notebook and disposable camera to provide a brief account of events and decisions as they establish a sense of normalcy to their lives. The camera, a basic art form, will allow persons who are regularly exposed to the arts to capture their experiences using a familiar medium. Telephone interviews will be conducted with participants who return the notebook and camera to clarify any of the written information, and obtain the "story" behind selected pictures. The combined forms of data - the written word, photos, and confirmatory interviews - will provide further insights about their experiences as they work through changes in their lives. We anticipate that personal resources (e.g., education, income, health, self perceptions) and ongoing family and other informal relationships coalesce into an explanation of their overall family functioning. Study findings will advance theory and understanding of aging families' functional capacities in the aftermath of a major natural disaster and nonnormative events, especially for underrepresented groups, such as poor, African American, and Asian citizens. Findings will be widely disseminated through scientific presentations, publications, and the development of a Research Brief distributed to community leaders, service providers, and policymakers.