Recovery Following Hurricane Rita: A Pilot Study of Preexisting and Modifiable Aspects of Positive Change

natural disasters (Cryder et al., 2006; McMillen, Smith, & Fisher, 1997; Vazquez, Cervellon, Perez-Sales, Vidales, & Gaborit, 2001). As a result of this growing body of research, it is now possible to begin formulating predictive outcome models that may facilitate identification of service needs and identify areas of strength for survivors following natural disaster experiences. A full review of the literature on the hypothesized predictive variables is beyond the scope of this brief report, but a summary of prominently researched variables follows. Several investigators have explored the relationship between trauma and personality from the Big 5 (i.e., neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness) perspective (see, e.g., Costa & McCrae, 1992; Funder, 2001; O’Connor & Dyce, 2002). More specifically, extremely low scores on agreeableness have been found to correlate with trauma-induced distress (Fauerbach, Lawrence, Schmidt, Munster, & Costa, 2000; Nightengale & Williams, 2000; Talbert, Braswell, Albrecht, Hyer, & Boudewyns, 1993). Low conscientiousness scores have also been found to correlate with distress (Fauerbach et al, 2000). In contrast, high scores on conscientiousness and agreeableness have been found to promote resilience (Riolli, Savick, & Cepani, 2002). Beyond resiliency, a recent meta-analysis found that benefit finding was related to greater optimism (Helgeson, Reynolds, & Tomich, 2006). Exposure to natural disaster is known to be associated with both short-term and longterm psychological and physical health problems (for reviews, see Bourque, Siegel, Kano, & Wood, 2006; Miller & Kraus, 1994; Norris, Murphy, Baker, & Perilla, 2004). Such disasters include a unique trauma variable in which extensive physical resources may be destroyed, and previous research has found that the extent of an individual’s property loss is predictive of emotional distress (Briere & Elliot, 2000; Norris, Perilla, Riad, Kaniasty, & Lavizzo, 1999). Although less is known about positive change than negative sequelae following natural disasters, within the broader trauma literature positive change is increasingly addressed (see, e.g., Cryder, Kilmer, & Tedeschi, 2006; Linley, Joseph, Cooper, Harris, & Meyer, 2003; Tedeschi & Calhoun 1995; Woodward & Joseph, 2003). It appears that at least half of trauma survivors may endorse some form of growth or positive change (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1995), including survivors of Facets of personality from the Big 5 model, familial coping mechanisms, and interpersonal support were selected to predict perceived benefits and subjective well-being with 43 participants from varied ages, income levels, and ethnicities who experienced a natural disaster. Results indicate positive changes were predicted by distinct variables (mental healthiness was predicted by high agreeableness, passive appraisal, and reframing, accounting for 43% of the variance, whereas perception of benefits was predicted by high conscientiousness and seeking social support, which accounted for 50% of the variance). Thus, it appears that long-standing, pretraumatic individual and familial differences predict these posttraumatic outcomes.