Do You Know What It Means…: Mapping Emotion in the Aftermath of Katrina

Abstract

This article explores the interconnection of race, politics and emotion in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Not only did Americans of different races perceive vastly different realities about the events in New Orleans, but black and white Americans felt different about what happened. The affective responses of African Americans were more pronounced than those of their white counterparts. These emotions are rooted in America's racial history and it resonance in contemporary US society. Using data from several national surveys conducted in the weeks following September 11, 2001, and the weeks following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, this article maps the differences in emotional responses among black and white Americans to both disasters. The survey data is used to suggest that Americans' political and racial beliefs were significantly related to their psychological experiences in the weeks following Katrina.

Keywords:

• emotion
• Hurricane Katrina
• politics
• racial differences
• September 11

Notes

Source: The National Tragedy Study (2001).

Table adapted from Tom Smith, Kenneth Rasinski, Marianna Toce “America Rebounds: A National Study of Public Response to the September 11th Terrorist Attacks.” Report of the National Opinion Research Center.

Source: University of Chicago Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture Racial Attitudes and Katrina Disaster Study.

Coefficients estimated with ordinary least squares regression. The dependent variable is constrained to a unit scale. Coefficients can be read as the percent change in total emotional distress. For example, those whites who support all three forms of reparations are 4 percentage points more distressed in the weeks following Katrina than those whites who do not support any form of reparations, all else being equal.

∗Indicates significance at p < .05.

Source: University of Chicago Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture Racial Attitudes and Katrina Disaster Study.

(Cutter 2005; Gabe et al. 2005; Sherman and Shapiro 2005; Frymer et al. 2006).

(Bobo 2006; Sweeney 2006; Huddy and Feldman 2006).

(Harvey and Bryant 1998; Kessler et al. 1995; North et al. 1999; Davidson et al. 1991; Green 1991; Breslau 1995).

(Schuster et al. 2001; Chan 2006).

(Schuster et al. 2001; Schlenger et al. 2002).

(Silver et al. 2002).

The National Tragedy Study was conducted between September 13 and September 27, 2001, by the National Opinion Research Center, University of Chicago. It was a telephone interview of adults (18 +) living in households with telephones in the United States. The total sample size of 2,126 comprised a national sample of 1,013 households and additional samples in the New York City, Washington, D.C., and Chicagoland areas. The overall response rate was 52 percent.

The Kennedy Assassination Study was conducted between November 26 and December 3, 1963, by the National Opinion Research Center, University of Chciago. The Kennedy Assassination Study Symptoms are derived from responses to the following: I am going to read a list of things some people have said happened to them since they heard about the attack on the World Trade Center. Please tell me whether or not they happened to you: Didn't feel like eating. Smoked more than usual. Had headaches. Had an upset stomach. Cried. Had trouble sleeping. Felt nervous and tense. Felt like getting drunk. Felt more tired than usual. Felt dizzy at times. Lost my temper more than usual. Hands sweat and felt damp and clammy. Had rapid heartbeats. Felt sort of dazed and numb. Kept forgetting things.

Rasinski et al. (2002).

Results for the survey are based on telephone interviews conducted under the direction of Princeton Survey Research Associates International among a nationwide sample of 1,000 adults, 18 years of age or older, including an oversample of African Americans, during the period September 6–7, 2005. The oversample of African Americans is designed to allow a sufficient number of interviews for reporting results of this demographic group. The national sample of telephone households was supplemented with an additional 103 interviews with African Americans whose households had been recently contacted for past Pew Research Center national surveys. Demographic weighting was used to ensure that the survey results reflect the correct racial and ethnic composition of national adults, based on U.S. Census information.

The Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture at the University of Chicago supported a national survey of Americans to gauge political and racial attitudes in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Principal investigators are Michael Dawson, Melissa Harris-Lacewell, and Cathy Cohen. The data were collected by Knowledge Networks between October 28, 2005 and November 17, 2005. Knowledge Networks employs a Random Digit Dialing (RDD) telephone methodology to develop a representative sample of households for participation in its panel. Once a Knowledge Networks household is selected, members are contacted first by an express delivery mailing and then by telephone for enrollment in the Knowledge Networks ^trade; panel. The panel structure enables clients to conduct surveys of low-incidence populations, such as African Americans, more efficiently and inexpensively than would otherwise be possible. Every participating Knowledge Networks household receives free hardware, free Internet access, free e-mail accounts, and ongoing technical support. Participants receive a short multimedia survey about once a week. Surveys are delivered by e-mail on the same standardized hardware, through the television set. The data include responses from 1252 Americans. The racial composition of the respondents is as follows: White: 703, Black: 487, Hispanic: 52, Other: 10. Interviews were conducted in person by Melissa Harris-Lacewell in various locations in New Orleans November 11–18, 2005. Interviews include than 28 personal discussions with local residents and hours of transcripts from three community meetings about rebuilding efforts.

Amato (1991), Breslau et al. (1998).

The name Post Traumatic Stress Disorder first appeared in 1980 in DSM-III, the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Third Edition. The diagnosis was updated in 1994 in the latest edition DSM-IV. The diagnostic criteria for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are defined in DSM-IV as follows:

News sources mattered for the conclusions that Americans drew about the efficiency of Presidential response. Seventy three percent of CNN watchers reported that the president could have done more, but only 50% of Fox News viewers agreed. Forty-six percent of those whose primary source of Katrina coverage was Fox news believed that the President had done all he could.

The Pew survey reports a 50% approval rating for President Bush in January 2005 and a 40% approval rating immediately following Katrina.

Education is coded as years of education. Income is measured as self reported household income, and coded on a unit scale where 0 represents the lowest income category and 1 represents the highest income category. Sex is coded as a dichotomous variable with female = 1. Age is coded as reported age at time of survey. The variable used in the equation is age² to account for the hypothesized parabolic relationship between age and mental health.

Democrat and Republican self identification are included in the model. They should be read against, the excluded category of those who say that there are independent or have no preference.