Measurement equivalence of seven selected items of posttraumatic growth between black and white adult survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

This study examined the equivalence or comparability of the measurement properties of seven selected items measuring posttraumatic growth among self-identified Black (n = 270) and White (n = 707) adult survivors of Hurricane Katrina, using data from the Baseline Survey of the Hurricane Katrina Community Advisory Group Study. Internal consistency reliability was equally good for both groups (Cronbach's alphas = .79), as were correlations between individual scale items and their respective overall scale. Confirmatory factor analysis of a congeneric measurement model of seven selected items of posttraumatic growth showed adequate measures of fit for both groups. The results showed only small variation in magnitude of factor loadings and measurement errors between the two samples. Tests of measurement invariance showed mixed results, but overall indicated that factor loading, error variance, and factor variance were similar between the two samples. These seven selected items can be useful for future large-scale surveys of posttraumatic growth.

African American and Latina community health workers engage PhotoPAR as a resource in a post-disaster context: Katrina at 5 years.

This article reports on participatory action and photo elicitation research conducted by community health workers and university-based researchers in post-Katrina New Orleans between August 2007 and 2010. It documents how 11 African American and Latina women community health workers forged ties and developed a model for responding to some of the personal, familial, and community effects of this "unnatural disaster." We identify and analyze two of the health literacies they developed and deployed: (1) intragroup and intergroup empathy skills and (2) capacity to critically analyze structural causes of health inequities. We argue that the participatory processes and outcomes analyzed herein offer one possible model through which local communities and health workers can creatively respond to health disparities in post-disaster contexts.

The "Quadroon-Plaçage" myth of antebellum New Orleans: Anglo-American (mis)interpretations of a French-Caribbean phenomenon.

The intimate relationships between white men and women of color in antebellum New Orleans, commonly known by the term plaçage, are a large part of the romanticized lore of the city and its history. This article exposes the common understanding of plaçage as myth. First, it reveals the source of the myth in a collection of accounts by travelers to the city in the decades leading up to the Civil War. Next, it uses a database of information on hundreds of white male-colored female relationships during the period to provide a more accurate account of the people in and nature of these relationships. Finally, it explains the purpose served by the myth by identifying three traditions that shaped its development: the culture of Southern Honor, the Anti-Slavery movement, and the bon-ton tradition of Georgian England. In a broader sense, this paper shows how myths are created and perpetuated, the temptations and dangers of uncritically accepting them, and the value to understanding their creation.

Changes in CD4 count among persons living with HIV/AIDS following Hurricane Katrina.

To examine the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the disease progression of persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH/A), CD4 counts during the 18 months immediately prior and subsequent to Katrina were obtained from the Louisiana Office of Public Health. PLWH/A were determined to be either non-residents of the New Orleans area, returning evacuees or evacuees who had returned to the area within 18 months. A mixed model repeated measures ANOVA showed significant effects for race, sex, age, year of diagnosis, and mode of exposure. A significant main effect for residence was found, as well as an interaction of residence by time of CD4 count (pre-Katrina vs. post-Katrina), indicating that, while non-returning evacuees had lower overall CD4 counts, the change in CD4 counts of non-returning evacuees dropped more sharply than those of the returning PLWH/A or non-residents. While these results point to a potential need for the population of PLWH/A who continue to be affected by Katrina, they also provide important data on the effect that large-scale disasters and stressful life events may have on individuals with chronic disease.

The neighborhood alcohol environment and at-risk drinking among African-Americans.

BACKGROUND: Our objective was to examine whether components of the neighborhood alcohol environment-liquor store, on-premise outlet, convenience store, and supermarket densities-are positively associated with at-risk alcohol consumption among African-American drinkers. METHODS: A multilevel cross-sectional sample of 321 African-American women and men ages 21 to 65 years recruited from April 2002 to May 2003 from three community-based healthcare clinics in New Orleans, Louisiana, was studied. RESULTS: The alcohol environment had a significant impact on at-risk alcohol consumption among African-American drinkers, specifically liquor store density (adjusted OR = 3.11, 95% CI = 1.87, 11.07). Furthermore, the influence of the alcohol environment was much stronger for African-American female drinkers (adjusted OR = 6.96, 95% CI = 1.38, 35.08). CONCLUSIONS: Treatment and prevention programs should take into account the physical environment, and the concentration of outlets in minority neighborhoods must be addressed as it poses potential health risks to the residents of these neighborhoods.

Rebuilding the park: the impact of Hurricane Katrina on a black middle-class neighborhood.

The devastation of Hurricane Katrina unveiled the legacy of racial and class stratification in New Orleans, Louisiana. Much of the Katrina-related research has focused primarily on how poor Black neighborhoods were disproportionately affected by the disaster. While this body of research makes valid claims, there has been very little research that examines how Black middle-class residents in New Orleans were impacted by Hurricane Katrina. This study examines how residents in Pontchartrain Park, a Black middle-class neighborhood, are responding to the disaster. The author uses in-depth interviews, ethnographic observations, and archival data to examine the barriers that residents are facing in the recovery process. She argues that the experiences of the Black middle class also have implications for the connectedness of race and class. The challenges discussed within the article are linked to a history of racial stratification.

Limits to social capital: comparing network assistance in two New Orleans neighborhoods devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

Sociological research emphasizes that personal networks offer social resources in times of need and that this capacity varies by the social position of those involved. Yet rarely are sociologists able to make direct comparisons of such inequalities. This study overcomes this methodological challenge by examining network activation among residents of two unequal neighborhoods severely devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Results indicate that local network capacities of Lower Ninth Ward residents relative to those of the more affluent Lakeview neighborhood dissipated before, during, and after the disaster to erode the life chances of individual residents and the neighborhood they once constituted.

"Bessie done cut her old man": race, common-law marriage, and homicide in New Orleans, 1925-1945.

This essay examines domestic homicide in early twentieth-century New Orleans. African-American residents killed their domestic partners at eight times the rate of white New Orleanians, and these homicides were most often committed by women, who killed their partners at fifteen times the rate of white women. Common-law marriages proved to be especially violent among African-American residents. Based on nearly two hundred cases identified in police records and other sources as partner killings between 1925 and 1945, this analysis compares lethal violence in legal marriages and in common-law unions. It also explores the social and institutional forces that buffeted common-law marriages, making this the most violent domestic arrangement and contributing to the remarkably high rate of spousal homicide by African-American women in early twentieth-century New Orleans.

Through hell and high water: New Orleans, August 29 - September 15, 2005.

In October of 2005 the Historic New Orleans Collection initiated an oral history project entitled "Through Hell and High Water: New Orleans, August 29 - September 15, 2005." The intent of the project was to capture the stories of first responders who worked in the New Orleans metropolitan area during the storm and the weeks that followed. The interview process has been linked with the after-action studies done by some of the local first-responding agencies and has provided a much-needed outlet for first responders. To date over three hundred subjects have been interviewed, and our work thus far has shown us that top-down methods of documentation do not work with an event like Katrina. The almost total loss of communications made it impossible for high-ranking members of the different agencies to control or even know what lower-ranking members were doing. As a result it will be necessary to cast a wide net in our documentation effort.

Oral history and Hurricane Katrina: reflections on shouts and silences.

In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, many oral historians throughout the nation began to consider the role their methodology could serve in documenting the storm and its aftermath. Interviewing so soon after such a traumatic event creates new considerations for oral history as an approach to recording experience. The problems and possibilities of oral history as such a moment initiated a vibrant discussion on H-Oralhist and at professional meetings in the fall of 2005. This article reflects on many of the topics raised in that dialogue, including issues of historical distance, objectivity, reflection, and emotional trauma. The piece also offers an early review of the work of the Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage at the University of Southern Mississippi to document the impact of Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi.