Religion and Coping With Trauma: Qualitative Examples From Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

Keywords

hurricanes, lifespan, faith, community, religion, spirituality beliefs, disaster

Abstract

In this article, we consider the intersection of religious coping and the experience of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in a lifespan sample of adults living in south Louisiana during the 2005 storms. Participants were young, middle-age, older, and oldest-old adults who were interviewed during the post-disaster recovery period. Qualitative analyses confirmed that three dimensions of religion were represented across participants' responses. These dimensions included: (1) faith community, in relation to the significant relief effort and involvement of area churches; (2) religious practices, in the sense of participants' behavioral responses to the storms, such as prayer; and (3) spiritual beliefs, referring to faith as a mechanism underlying individual and family-level adjustment, acceptance, and personal growth in the post-disaster period. Implications for future disaster preparedness are considered.

Original Publication Citation

*Tausch, C., Marks, L. D., *Brown, J. S., Cherry, K. E., *Frias, T., *McWilliams, Z., *Melancon, M., & Sasser, D. (2011). Religion and coping in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: Qualitative themes from the Louisiana Healthy Aging Study. Journal of Religion, Spirituality, and Aging, 23, 236-253.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2011-05-24

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/7688

Publisher

Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Family Life

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

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