“That day no one spoke”: Florida Puerto Ricans’ Reaction to Hurricane María

Abstract

We conducted two focus groups and four individual interviews to examine the experiences of Florida Puerto Rican adults ( N = 26) with secondary exposure to the devastation caused by Hurricane María. Results from our thematic analysis yielded four major themes and eight subthemes depicting responses to Hurricane María. Four major themes emerged across participant responses: 1) Participants’ Experience with Hurricane María, 2) Participants’ Negative Reactions to Hurricane María, 3) Participants Providing Support, and 4) Resilience and Growth. We also found that Florida Puerto Ricans’ secondary stress reactions were influenced by Puerto Rico’s political status and economic crisis. Results also indicated that participants experienced vicarious posttraumatic growth not only at the individual but also at the community level.

Exploring posttraumatic growth after the COVID-19 pandemic

“… Vázquez et al (2008) found from the study of the collective trauma of terrorism that people could experience PTG at the social level in such ways as increased national cohesion, increased patriotism, and greater confidence in government decisions. This is similar to the findings of Capielo Rosario et al (2020) , who believed that collective trauma strengthens the national identity. Common traumatic memories and emotional expressions are conducive to improving a collective cohesion and strengthening the social identity ( Wlodarczyk et al, 2017 ).…”

“… Harvey and Berndt (2020) have shown that altruistic expansion is one of the dimensions of PTG perceived by cancer caregivers. According to Capielo Rosario et al (2020) , PTG obtained by individuals who experienced Hurricane María included active support of others. Similar findings can be found in COVID-19 pandemic research.…”

“…Although the five dimensions of PTGI have an extensive influence, there is no consensus on the dimensional structure of PTG ( Exenberger et al, 2021 ; Harvey & Berndt, 2020 ; Heidarzadeh et al, 2018 ). Many studies have shown that different cultural backgrounds and types of traumatic events can lead to different domains of PTG ( Capielo et al, 2020 ; Kashyap & Hussain, 2018 ). For example, Exenberger et al (2021) believe that individualistic measurements such as PTGI are not sufficient to test the growth dimensions in non-Western cultures.…”

Something Old and Something New: Future Directions in Vocational Research With People of Color in the United States

“…Youth are particularly susceptible to increased mental health symptoms following disasters (Roberts, Mitchell, Witman, & Taffaro, 2010; Ward & Shelley, 2008). Moreover, secondary exposure to these disasters affects people of color with ties to the devastated areas (Capielo Rosario, Abreu, Gonzalez, & Cardenas Bautista, in press).…”

“…Research indicates that the lack of government response to disasters can affect the mental health and work-related cognitions among people of color, even if they did not experience the devastation firsthand. For instance, Puerto Ricans living on the U.S. mainland reported feelings of pain and sadness as a result of perceiving that Puerto Ricans were neglected by the U.S. government in Hurricane Maria’s aftermath (Capielo Rosario et al, in press). Survivors of Hurricane Katrina reported a similar loss of trust and faith in the government following the disaster (Tuason et al, 2012).…”