Cultural Mechanisms in the Exchange of Social Support Among Puerto Ricans After a Natural Disaster

Abstract

In this study, I uncovered the dynamics involved in the exchange (or lack) of social support among a group of Puerto Ricans who experienced a natural disaster. I coded and analyzed 12 semistructured qualitative interviews. My analysis of the interviews revealed that a reported high degree of need was not associated with any type of help seeking from the respondents’ social support networks. Relevant issues that arose in explaining the lack of social support exchanges were level of comfort in help seeking and cultural issues. My findings point to the importance of culture in shaping patterns of help-seeking behavior in the aftermath of a disaster. Two of the most salient cultural explanations as to why disaster victims were reluctant to ask for help from family and friends were the issues of confianza (trust) and pena (embarrassment). I discuss the results with reference to how they might help in planning and establishing programs to maximize help seeking among Latinos/as in an emergency situation.

Keywords

culture / cultural competence health seeking Latino/Hispanic people social support

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Adams

R. E.

Boscarino

J. A.

(2005). Differences in mental health outcomes among Whites, African Americans, and Hispanics following a community disaster. Psychiatry: Interpersonal and Biological Processes, 68, 250-265. doi:10.1521/psyc.2005.68.3.25010.1521/psyc.2005.68.3.250

Boscarino

J. A.

Galea

Adams

R. E.

Ahern

Resnick

Vlahov

(2004). Mental health service and medication use in New York City after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack. Psychiatric Services, 55, 274-283. doi:10.1176/appi.ps.55.3.27410.1176/appi.ps.55.3.274

Denzin

N. K.

(1989). The research act: A theoretical introduction to sociological methods (3rd ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Prentice Hall.

Dunkel-Schetter

Sagrestano

L. M.

Feldman

Killingsworth

(1996). Social support and pregnancy: A comprehensive review focusing on ethnicity and culture. In Pierce

Sarason

(Eds.), Handbook of social support and the family (pp. 375-412). New York: Plenum.

Falcón

(2004). The atlas of stateside Puerto Ricans. New York: Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration.

Fontana

Rosenheck

(2005). The role of war-zone trauma and PTSD in the etiology of antisocial behavior. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 193, 203-209. doi:10.1097/01.nmd.0000154835.92962.e510.1097/01.nmd.0000154835.92962.e5

Ford

J. D.

Adams

M. L.

Dailey

W. F.

(2006). Factors associated with receiving help and risk factors for disaster-related distress among Connecticut adults 5-15 months after the September 1th terrorist incidents. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 41, 261-270. doi:10.1007/s00127-006-0031-910.1007/s00127-006-0031-9

Galea

Vlahov

Tracy

Hoover

D. R.

Resnick

Kilpatrick

(2004). Hispanic ethnicity and post-traumatic stress disorder after a disaster: Evidence from a general population survey after September 11, 2001. Annals of Epidemiology, 14, 520-531. doi:10.1016/j.annepidem.2004.01.00610.1016/j.annepidem.2004.01.006

Gibbs

(2007). Analyzing qualitative data. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

10.

Golding

J. M.

Baezconde-Garbanati

L. A.

(1990). Ethnicity, culture, and social resources. American Journal of Community Psychology, 18, 465-486. doi:10.1007/BF0093811810.1007/BF00938118

11.

Hobfoll

S. E.

(1989). Conservation of resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American Psychologist, 44, 513-524. doi:10.1037//0003-066X.44.3.51310.1037//0003-066X.44.3.513

12.

Hobfoll

S. E.

(1998). Stress, culture, and community: The psychology and philosophy of stress. New York: Plenum.

13.

Hobfoll

S. E.

Lerman

(1989). Predicting receipt of social support: A longitudinal study of parents’ reactions to their child’s illness. Health Psychology, 8, 61-77. doi:10.1037/0278-6133.8.1.6110.1037/0278-6133.8.1.61

14.

Ibañez

G. E.

Khatchikian

Buck

C. A.

Weisshaar

D. L.

Abush-Kirsh

Lavizzo

E. A.

Norris

F.H.

(2003). Qualitative analysis of social support and conflict among Mexican and Mexican-American disaster survivors. Journal of Community Psychology, 31, 1-23.

15.

Kana’iaupuni

S. M.

Donato

K. M.

Thompson-Colón

Stainback

(2005). Counting on kin: Social networks, social support, and child health status. Social Forces, 83, 1137-1164.

16.

Kaniasty

Norris

F. H.

(1995). In search of altruistic community: Patterns of social support mobilization following Hurricane Hugo. American Journal of Community Psychology, 23, 447-477. doi:10.1007/BF0250696410.1007/BF02506964

17.

Kaniasty

Norris

F. H.

(2000). Help-seeking comfort and receiving social support: The role of ethnicity and context of need. American Journal of Community Psychology, 28, 545-581.

18.

Kaniasty

Norris

F. H.

(2001). Social support dynamics in adjustment to disasters. In Sarason

B. R.

Duck

(Eds.), Personal relationships: Implications for clinical and community psychology (pp. 201-224). New York: Wiley & Sons.

19.

Marín

B. V.

(1991). Research with Hispanic populations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

20.

McFarlane

A. C.

Norris

F. H.

(2006). Definitions and concepts in disaster research. In Norris

F. H.

Galea

Friedman

M. J.

Watson

P. J.

(Eds.), Methods for disaster mental health research (pp. 3-19). New York: Guilford Press.

21.

Messias

D. K. H.

Lacy

(2007). Katrina-related health concerns of Latino survivors and evacuees. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 18, 443-464. doi:10.1353/hpu.2007.004110.1353/hpu.2007.0041

22.

Mindel

C. H.

(1980). Extended familism among urban Mexican Americans, Anglos, and Blacks. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 2, 21-34.

23.

Mulvaney-Day

N. E.

Alegría

Sribney

(2007). Social cohesion, social support, and health among Latinos in the United States. Social Science & Medicine, 64, 477-495. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2006.08.03010.1016/j.socscimed.2006.08.030

24.

National Climatic Data Center. (2004). Climate of 2004. Atlantic hurricane season. Retrieved from http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/tropical-cyclones/2004/13

25.

Norbeck

J. S.

Anderson

N. J.

(1989). Psychosocial predictors of pregnancy outcomes in low-income Black, Hispanic, and White women. Nursing Research, 38, 204-209. doi:10.1097/00006199-198907000-0000410.1097/00006199-198907000-00004

26.

QSR International. (2008). QSR NVivo 8. Melbourne, Australia: Author.

27.

Ramirez

R. R.

la Patricia

Cruz

(2002). The Hispanic population in U.S. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau

28.

Ritchie

Lewis

(2003). Qualitative research practice: A guide for social science students and researchers. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

29.

Rivera

F. I.

(2007). Contextualizing the experience of young Latino adults: The relationship between acculturation and depression. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 3, 237-244.

30.

Sattler

D. N.

Preston

A. J.

Kaiser

C. F.

Olivera

V. E.

Valdez

Schlueter

(2002). Hurricane Georges: A cross-national study examining preparedness, resource loss, and psychological distress in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and the United States. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 15, 339-350. doi:10.1023/A:102013802230010.1023/A:1020138022300

31.

Solomon

S. D.

Bravo

Rubio-Stipec

Canino

G. J.

(1993). Effect of family role on response to disaster. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 6, 255-269. doi:10.1007/BF0097412010.1007/BF00974120

32.

Stanton-Salazar

R. D.

Chavez

L. F.

Tai

R. H.

(2001). The help-seeking orientations of Latino and non-Latino urban high school students: A critical-sociological investigation. Social Psychology of Education, 5, 49-82.

33.

Strauss

Corbin

(1998). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

34.

Triandis

H. C.

(1994). Culture and social behavior. New York: Mcgraw-Hill.

35.

Triandis

H. C.

Marín

Lisansky

Betancourt

(1984). Simpatía as a cultural script of Hispanics. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47, 1363-1375.

36.

Turner

R. J.

Turner

J. B.

(1999). Social integration and support. In Aneshensel

C. S.

Phelan

J. C.

(Eds.), Handbook of the sociology of mental health (pp. 301-320). New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum.

37.

Vega

W. A.

Kolody

Miranda

M. R.

(1985). The meaning of social support and the mediation of stress across cultures. In Stress & Hispanic mental health: Relating research to service delivery (pp. 48-75). Rockville, MD: National Institute of Mental Health.

38.

Vega

W. A.

Rumbaut

R. G.

(1991). Ethnic minorities and health. Annual Review of Sociology, 17, 351-383. doi:10.1146/annurev.soc.17.1.35110.1146/annurev.soc.17.1.351

39.

Zack Ishikawa

R. V.

Cardemil

E. V.

Falmagne

R. J.

(2010). Help seeking and help receiving for emotional distress among Latino men and women. Qualitative Health Research, 20, 1558-1572. doi:10.1177/104973231036914010.1177/1049732310369140