Individual disaster communication in the Latinx community after Hurricane Harvey: The role of disaster exposure, perceived discrimination stress, and social trust

ABSTRACT

This study examined how socio-cultural factors explain the relationship between hurricane exposure and frequency of individual disaster communication among Latinx individuals in Texas communities impacted by Hurricane Harvey. Participants included 397 Latinx residents in nine Texas counties that were most impacted by Hurricane Harvey. Through structural equation modeling, results indicated that perceived discrimination stress mediates the relationship between Hurricane Harvey exposure and individual disaster communication, whereas social distrust plays a disruptive role. Overall, the results (a) identify the individual and inter-related influence of stress and trust factors on the seeking and sharing of information within Latinx disaster communication ecologies, and (b) emphasize the importance of trust-building and storytelling strategies to engage the Latinx community following disasters.

KEYWORDS:

• Disaster communication
• communication ecology
• Latinx
• citizen disaster communication assessment (CDCA)

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 To be gender inclusive of individuals who identify as non-binary or who do not prefer to be identified by gender, we use the term “Latinx” to refer to any individual of Latin American origin.

2 Although originally called “citizen disaster communication” (Spialek & Houston, 2018), here we use the term “individual disaster communication” to be inclusive of participants who are not U.S. citizens.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported in part by the Robert and Sandra Connor Endowed Faculty Fellowship in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas.

Notes on contributors

Matthew L. Spialek

Matthew L. Spialek, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Arkansas. His research examines how individuals build relationships in communication ecologies in order to foster the civic life, public health, and resilience of communities that have or are at risk of experiencing crises and disasters.

J. Brian Houston

J. Brian Houston, Ph.D., is an associate professor and Chair in the Department of Communication and is Co-Director of the Disaster and Community Crisis Center at the University of Missouri. His research focuses on communication at all phases of disasters and on the mental health effects and sociopolitical consequences of community crises.

Haejung Shin

Haejung Shin, M.S., is a doctoral student in the Department of Communication at the University of Missouri. Her research focuses on the understanding of media effects on individuals' communication and information processing in the context of disaster, risk, and crisis.

Katherine Okker-Edging

Katherine Okker-Edging, B.A., is a master's student in the Department of Public Health and the School of Journalism at the University of Missouri. Her research focuses on health communication, and she has experience in international development through the Peace Corps.

Valeria Pierola Suzuki

Valeria Pierola Suzuki, M.A., recently served as a graduate teaching assistant in the Department of Communication at the University of Arkansas. Her research interests examine the intersection of intercultural communication and public discourse about mental health.