Article archive / October 1, 2009
Originally published: . Volume 1, No. 2. Source pages: 4.
LSU Professor Dr. Mary Lou Kelley was awarded a grant of approximately $378,000 to study the psychological impact of hurricanes on Louisiana youth. One of the main goals of the research was to identify risks to children who are caught in these disasters. An additional goal was to isolate the protective factors related to how children adjust to changes and stress after disasters like Katrina and Rita. More than 500,000 families lost their homes in these Louisiana storms and a major impact was born by the children, who were displaced from their communities and forced to deal with unusual stresses.
In this project, Dr. Kelley and her associates will also develop measures of coping and social support that will help others in the future, as well as curriculum materials for families in post-disaster situations.
Approximately 200 families who were exposed to hurricanes in New Orleans are participants, with 85 Baton Rouge comparison dyads.
In the latest update, Dr. Kelley noted that the current project extends the evaluation of mother-child dyads over the next three years with special emphasis on recovery and resiliency. She and her graduate students at LSU will be conducting focus groups with participants from the Katrina areas, with the goal of uncovering the factors for positive adjustment. Spirituality, self-efficacy, and expanded analysis of social support as included areas of focus.
Dr. Kelley observed that participants who lived in Renaissance Village, a Baton Rouge, a FEMA supported trailer park, “indicated a preference for the trailer park over current apartment housing, because of a greater degree of social support and the sense of community experienced in the congregate housing.”
One aspect of the study, the development of psychometrically sound coping measures, has been submitted for publication. Four research papers have been published or are under review for publication. Dr. Kelley was one of 100 psychologists selected by the APA to participate in the 5th Annual Science Leadership Conference in November.
Four poster sessions will be presented in November, two at The International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies in Atlanta and two at The Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies in New York.
Dr. Kelley and her team. Left to right: Dr. Mary Lou Kelley, Julia Vigna (graduate student using data for her dissertation), Allison Battaglia (undergrad RA), Jennifer Maul (undergrad RA), Julia Thompson (graduate student who supervises RAs) and Arlene Gordon (graduate student). Julia Vigna, Julia Thompson, Arlene Gordon, and Meghan Burns (not shown) will all present posters in November.
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