@article {mclaughlin_recovery_2011, title = {Recovery from PTSD following Hurricane Katrina}, journal = {Depression and Anxiety}, volume = {28}, number = {6}, year = {2011}, month = {jun}, pages = {439{\textendash}446}, abstract = {BACKGROUND: We examined patterns and correlates of speed of recovery of estimated posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among people who developed PTSD in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. METHOD: A probability sample of prehurricane residents of areas affected by Hurricane Katrina was administered a telephone survey 7-19 months following the hurricane and again 24-27 months posthurricane. The baseline survey assessed PTSD using a validated screening scale and assessed a number of hypothesized predictors of PTSD recovery that included sociodemographics, prehurricane history of psychopathology, hurricane-related stressors, social support, and social competence. Exposure to posthurricane stressors and course of estimated PTSD were assessed in a follow-up interview. RESULTS: An estimated 17.1\% of respondents had a history of estimated hurricane-related PTSD at baseline and 29.2\% by the follow-up survey. Of the respondents who developed estimated hurricane-related PTSD, 39.0\% recovered by the time of the follow-up survey with a mean duration of 16.5 months. Predictors of slow recovery included exposure to a life-threatening situation, hurricane-related housing adversity, and high income. Other sociodemographics, history of psychopathology, social support, social competence, and posthurricane stressors were unrelated to recovery from estimated PTSD. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of adults who developed estimated PTSD after Hurricane Katrina did not recover within 18-27 months. Delayed onset was common. Findings document the importance of initial trauma exposure severity in predicting course of illness and suggest that pre- and posttrauma factors typically associated with course of estimated PTSD did not influence recovery following Hurricane Katrina.}, keywords = {Adaptation, Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Chronic Disease, Cross-Sectional Studies, Cyclonic Storms, Disasters, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Health Surveys, Humans, Louisiana, Male, Mass Screening, Middle Aged, Post-Traumatic, Prognosis, Psychological, Risk Factors, Stress Disorders, Surveys and Questionnaires, Young Adult}, issn = {1520-6394}, doi = {10.1002/da.20790}, author = {McLaughlin, Katie A. and Berglund, Patricia and Gruber, Michael J. and Ronald C. Kessler and Sampson, Nancy A. and Zaslavsky, Alan M.} }