Narrating Hurricane Katrina: Identifying linguistic patterns in survivors' trauma accounts
Item
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Title
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Narrating Hurricane Katrina: Identifying linguistic patterns in survivors' trauma accounts
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Identifier
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d_2009_2013:f90f52957167:10590
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identifier
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10773
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Creator
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Goldfine, Lisa,
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Contributor
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Lissa Weinstein
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Date
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2010
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Clinical psychology | Linguistics | Adult Attachment Inventory | Hurricane Katrina | language | referential activity | trauma | unresolved
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Abstract
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An attempt was made to identify characteristic linguistic patterns within a sample of Katrina survivors. Meanwhile, an effort was made to assess the survivors' levels of Referential Activity (RA) and Unresolved Trauma. Though the RA measure has been utilized in several research studies, it has never before been applied to a non-clinical sample of traumatized individuals. This work also aimed to distinguish transcripts coded as "Unresolved" according to the Unresolved Trauma and Loss Scale of the Adult Attachment Inventory (AAI) from transcripts coded as "Resolved" on the basis of linguistic markers. With these multiple objectives in mind, an archival collection of 18 oral history interviews of Hurricane Katrina evacuees was subjected to narrative and linguistic analysis.;The evacuees received predominantly High RA scores (relative to their individual mean RA scores) as they provided their storm accounts. This indicates some degree of absorption in their traumatic recollections. The Unresolved individuals also received overwhelmingly High RA scores, which suggests that RA may play a unique role in traumatized populations. Rather than serving as a signifier of mental health, High RA may reflect the presence of trauma-related pathology in a traumatized individual.;The evacuees' use of certain linguistic mechanisms also suggested a high degree of psychological immersion in the trauma. Though the extent of traumatic immersion differed between the Resolved and Unresolved evacuees, the linguistic devices used in both sets of transcripts were fundamentally similar. This suggests that the hard categorical distinction usually made between the Resolved and Unresolved classifications might be more fluid than previously thought.;Also, the results of this study demonstrated that attuned listening by clinicians might present a naturalistic method of identifying those survivors who may be at heightened risk for stress-related pathology following trauma. To this end, clinicians should pay special attention to patients' use of linguistic mechanisms (such as the use of sensory imagery, linguistic repetition, metaphors for the trauma, shifts into present tense, shifts into second-person pronouns, heavy use of dialogue, and inclusion of detail). Traumatized individuals who demonstrate excessive use of these mechanisms should be monitored closely for the development of stress-related symptomatology.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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2009_2013.csv
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Psychology
