David N. Sattler, Andrew Preston, Charles F. Kaiser, Vivian E. Olivera, Juan Valdez, & Shannon Schlueter (2002).
Hurricane Georges: A cross-national study examining preparedness, resource loss, and psychological distress in the U. S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and the United States.
Journal of Traumatic Stress, 15, 339-350.
Abstract
This
cross-national study examined preparation for and psychological functioning
following Hurricane Georges in the U. S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Dominican
Republic, and the United States. Four to five weeks after the storm made
landfall, 697 college students (222 men, 476 women) completed a questionnaire
assessing demographic characteristics, preparation, social support, resource
loss, and symptoms associated with acute stress disorder. Location, resource
loss (especially personal characteristic resources) and social support accounted
for a significant portion of psychological distress variance. The findings
support the conservation of resources stress theory (Hobfoll, 1989; 1998).
Implications of the findings and future research directions are discussed.