Hurricane Katrina: Perceptions of Older People in a Community Accepting Displaced Victims

Hurricane Katrina:Perceptions of Older People in a Community Accepting Displaced Victims Yoshinori Kamo, Tammy L. Henderson, & Karen A. Roberto The Annual Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America Nov. 22, 2010, New Orleans, LA

Major Issues • Katrina landfall in August 29, 2005. • Baton Rouge (70 mi NW): a premiere destination for displaced persons from New Orleans to flee. • Changes in perceptions of older people in the receiving community. • Are they justified by demographic data? • Changes in the attitudes of older people toward newcomers. • Did it change the community itself? • What determines the perceptions and attitudes? • Policy implications

Table 1. Characteristics of the Sample (N=85)

Table 2. Perception of Change Before Katrina (Time 1) & immediately after (Time 2)

NOTE: Scores indicate “1=none” to “5=a great deal.” *** p<.001, ** p<.01, * p<.05, # p<.10 (or p<.05, one-tailed)

Figure 1. Total Population Change in the New Orleans and Baton Rouge Metropolitan Areas

Source: US Census Bureau (2010)

Figure 2. Changes in Crimes in Baton Rouge

Sources: Federal Bureau of Investigation (2010), Baton Rouge Police Department (2010). NOTE: The number of each crime was converted to its ratio to the 2005 figure in respective crime.

Table 3. Perception of Other People Since Hurricane Katrina (N=88)

NOTES: Scores indicate “1=a lot less” to “5=a lot more.” *** p<.001, ** p<.01, * p<.05, # p<.10 (or p<.05, one-tailed), for the difference between the mean value and 3.0.

Table 4. Estimated Regression Equations for Older Residents’ Perceptions of Changes in Baton Rouge

NOTE: * p<.05, # p<.10 (or p<.05, one-tailed)

Table 5. Estimated Regression Equations for Older Residents’ Acceptance and Disapproval of Newcomers

NOTE: * p<.05, # p<.10 (or p<.05, one-tailed)

Hurricane Katrina: Perceptions of Older People in a Community Accepting Displaced Victims