Social Supports for Individuals with Disabilities Impacted by DisasterLaura M. Stough, Ph.D.Amy N. Sharp, Ph.D.Elizabeth McAdams Ducy, M.Ed.Texas A&M University

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M. Scott Mahaskey/Army Times/AP

Eric Gay/AP

Eric Gay/AP

Hurricane Katrina 1.5 Million Impacted

23% with Disabilities

Children with Disabilities Children and persons with physical or mental

disabilities, and immigrants have been identified as especially vulnerable to the harmful impacts of disaster (Cutter et al., 2003).

Given that vulnerability factors tend to “cluster,” certain segments of the population, such as children with disabilities, often suffer amplified risk in disaster (Phillips & Morrow, 2007, p. 63).

Children with Disabilities Children with disabilities may be in danger of

suffering life-threatening consequences in the aftermath of disaster due to separation from parents and other caregivers (Peek & Stough,2010).

Most children do not develop new psychopathologies beyond post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and are psychologically resilient following disaster, particularly when they receive appropriate support from a parent or other close adult (La Greca et al., 2002).

In addition, children with disabilities have social networks that tend to be smaller and more fragile (Smart, 2001), and thus losing a parent or another person in their limited support system – either due to death, physical separation, increased demands in other areas, or stress – could result in additional trauma for these children (Peek & Stough, 2010).

Eric Gay/AP

Tierney et al. (1988) suggest that the social distancing associated with the label of “disabled” may further limit access to social networks and others sources of psychological support during a disaster

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Past Research on Disaster and Disabilities Adults with mobility impairments are at increased

risk for mortality (Aldrich & Benson, 2008) Adults with disabilities are less likely to evacuate

(Dash & Gladwin, 2007) People with disabilities are often excluded from

emergency preparedness planning (Fox, White, Rooney, & Rowland, 2007)

Stigma, social distancing, and institutional exclusion can further threaten the physical health in the aftermath of disaster (Hemingway & Priestly, 2006)

Design of the StudyI. Face-to-face in-depth interviews with 39

individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) or diabetes which include questions about their

A. Daily life and supports pre-disasterB. Disaster narrativeC. Daily life and supports three years post-

disasterII. Telephone surveys with 200 individuals with

ID or diabetesA. 65 items based on qualitative resultsB. 12 demographic items

III. Two focus groups: Texas and Louisiana

Interview Participants

Texas Louisiana TOTAL

Intellectual Disabilities 11 12 23

Diabetes 5 3 8

Other Disabilities 1 7 8

TOTAL 17 22 39

Interview Participants

38%62%

Gender

MaleFemale

Interview Participants

77.0%

10.0%

10.0% 3.0%

Ethnicity

African AmericanWhite UnknownAsian

Survey Item Categories After 39 face-to-face interviews were

completed, transcribed, and coded, Grounded Theory was used to identify primary emerging categories. Some of these categories included:HousingEmploymentTransportationSocial supportsRecreationSpiritual ActivitiesMedical well-being

Social Supports Social supports was the most prominent

category revealed through the analysis

Social supports was a topic referenced in all 39 interviews

Social supports was referenced a total of 311 times across all interviews

Definitions

Definition of Disaster- When resources needed due to an

unexpected impact exceed the capacity of a community or individual to respond to the impact.

Definition of Social Supports- People or organizations that provide added capacity to either individuals or families.

Properties of Social Supports1. Proximity2. Frequency of interaction3. Diversity of people4. Intimacy with neighbors5. Formality of supports6. Cohesion of family

Proximity Close vs. Distant

Before:○ In the same house, neighborhood or city

before the storm, “family house”○ Contacts were frequent

After:○ Not able to visit family and friends because of

distance○ Not able to “reach out and touch them”

ProximityInterviewer: “Did your family live right there

by you or close?” Karen: “Oh yeah, I lived on this side, I live

1609 and my sister live 1611. It was a family house and we have been around here since 1953.”

Proximity“ It’s [life] boring. Besides my Auntie, I had a friend that I loved. I left them because it’s to far away. People won’t come way down here to get you. They considered this a long ways from Baton Rouge and a long ways from New Orleans.” Wanda

Frequency of Interaction High vs. Low

Some with no contact at allInstead of physical daily/near daily

interaction now infrequent phone calls

Frequency of InteractionInterviewer-”Who did you see almost everyday before Katrina?”

Mark- “My family. My brothers and sisters yeah. There is eight of us, four boys and four girls.”

Interviewer-”Those are the people you spent your time with everyday?”

Mark- “Right, right. Some kind of way or another.”

Frequency of Interaction “So it has been rough trying to get back

we have been back one time but we was enjoying life was sweet like my kids tell it they really miss their friends people that we have not seen in a long time.” Kate

Diversity of People High vs. low diversity

Influences amount and type of activitiesInfluences access to transportation, daily

living finances, leisure and recreation

Diversity of People “My friends and I we have certain times

we would get together, you know, like on Friday we would go to the market or if I had some place or some of them, a couple of them would meet me down there we would go to lunch at a café in St. Peter’s square, we would go there and have a sandwich and sometimes we would go to the park.” Faye

Diversity of People“I don’t have no friends. The only friends I

have right now is my wife.” Mike

“I don’t know nobody here.” Efron

Intimacy with Neighbors High vs. low intimacy

Before○ Neighbors were friends○ Considered leisure time hanging out with

neighborsAfter

○ No contact with neighbors ○ Some do have contact with neighbors and they

are supports○ No longer have a sense of belonging to

neighborhood

Intimacy with Neighbors  ”The apartment building I lived in

sometimes I would go downstairs in the lobby area and there was a room with my neighbors and we would go down there and talk and stuff and watch T.V. There was a big screen T.V. and we would be down there and congregate and talk. I would congregate with my neighbors in the afternoon.” Immanuel

Intimacy with NeighborsInterviewer- “Do you know people in the

neighborhood?”

Immanuel- “No, I might greet them hello, goodbye, maybe my neighbor downstairs. But I mean I don’t congregate with anyone in particular around here.”

Formality of Supports Informal vs. formal

Loss of informal supports Increased interaction with paid social

service providersFamily members

become formal

Informality of Supports“She (sister) took care of me. She took care of me get my medicine and fix my food. My sister cause she got a car and stuff……My sister she go she would take me shopping well the days I was feeling good we go shopping.” Ethel

Informality of Supports“ My church family and my family I could

always go to them for help. I didn’t necessarily have to ask all the time they know my limits, they knew my limits. I miss those people its different here. I was comfortable with my family and people from my church and the few friends in the neighborhood I had. Like I said people knew, I had friends you didn’t have to ask for anything you know. Its different here real different here.” Joe

Cohesion of Family

Separated and

Scattered

TogetherAnd

Gathered

Cohesion of Family“Like I said I still can’t reach out and touch my sisters, none of them. Things are just bad. Seeing them everyday. Now everybody just spread all over. My other sister she in where she at lets see if I can think of the name somewhere her and her daughters, my nieces where they at man I can’t even think of the name.” Mark

Cohesion of Family Interviewer: Are there any other

members of your family that live nearby? You said you had a son in Corpus Christie?”

Mike- “That’s my only one. Everyone else, I don’t know where they at. I don’t know if they're dead, I don’t know if they are alive.”

Social Supports

Before After Same

Saw friends and neighbors more

88% 4% 6%

Saw family members more

72% 11% 16%

Knew more neighbors

80% 14% 4%

Had more friends

78% 11% 9%

PROJECT REDD(Research and Education on Disability

and Development)

Laura M. Stough, Ph.D. lstough@tamu.edu

Amy N. Sharp, Ph.D.

http://redd.tamu.edu