Uncertainty and disaster recovery: an analysis of victim perceptions utilizing the problematic integration theory

Abstract

Guided by the problematic integration theory, the purpose of this study was to determine what probabilistic and evaluative orientations were formed during post-disaster decision-making following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the 2011 Tuscaloosa Tornado, the 2011 Mississippi Delta flooding, and a pair of tornados in Hattiesburg Mississippi in 2013 and 2017. A series of focus groups were conducted in communities impacted by these disasters. Five different themes emerged when coding the focus group data for probabilistic and evaluative orientations formed: (1) Distrust, (2) Disorientation, (3) Desperation, (4) Disparity, and (5) Disconnection. The broader implications of this study shed light on how people handle personal uncertainty, especially in situations where their lives have been dramatically shifted in a negative way.

Keywords:

• Disaster Recovery
• Evaluative Orientations
• Probabilistic Orientations
• Problematic Integration Theory

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Funding

The project described was supported by Award Number U54MD008602 for the Gulf States Collaborative Center for Health Policy Research (Gulf States-HPC) from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities of the National Institutes of Health. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities or the National Institutes of Health.

Notes on contributors

Braden Hale Bagley

Braden Hale Bagley is an Assistant Professor of Strategic Communication at Southern Utah University. He received his PhD in Communication Studies from The University of Southern Mississippi.

Candace Forbes Bright

Candace Forbes Bright is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at East Tennessee State University. She received her PhD in International Development from The University of Southern Mississippi.

Edward Sayre

Edward Sayre is the Director of the School of Social Science and Global Studies and Professor of Economics at the University of Southern Mississippi. He received his PhD in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin.

Roma Hanks

Roma Hanks is the Department Chair and Professor of Sociology at the University of South Alabama. She received her PhD in Family Studies/Gerontology from the University of Delaware.

Sarah Wraight

Sarah Wraight is a researcher at the University of South Alabama. She received her MA from the University of South Alabama.