| Social vulnerability studies reveal that disaster recovery tends to reproduce pre-existing structures of inequality. Post-disaster resources typically follow previous lines of status and privilege, which have the effect of further marginalizing the already marginalized. The socially disadvantaged, who often have fewer resources for disaster preparation and suffer greater disaster losses, frequently receive less post-disaster assistance and demonstrate less disaster resiliency, both materially and psychologically. The following study discusses the relationships between post-disaster mental health, access to resources, and social inequality, and tests the equity by which one disaster relief program delivered assistance to survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Furthermore, it proposes a multi-level model for understanding how social inequality can be reproduced in the delivery of formal disaster relief aid. Using an expanded social vulnerability paradigm that incorporates theories of resource mobilization and structure-agency integration, resource referrals given to Mississippi Gulf Coast residents in crisis counseling encounters are tested for effects of race/ethnicity, class, gender, and age in referrals distribution. Significant group differences are found by race/ethnicity, but not to the disadvantage of minorities. Instead, data reveal largely equitable distribution with a slight advantage given to Asian participants. Data are further analyzed and explained by a combination of individual and ecological variables and data limitations. |
