We’ve Got Grit”: Disaster Vulnerability and Resilience in Advanced Age

• In Event: 096 - Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) Research Session. Issues in Health, Well-Being, and Stratification

Abstract

Older adults are often disproportionately vulnerable to extreme events—a fact that accounts for their overrepresentation among fatalities resulting from recent large-scale disasters. Physical limitations, an increased likelihood of social isolation, financial strain, and other characteristics common among seniors have been identified as key factors that increase the likelihood of negative disaster impacts within this population. Indeed, much of the literature on seniors’ disaster vulnerability focuses heavily on physical frailty and other individual-level characteristics that amplify their risk of disaster-related morbidity and mortality. However, social vulnerability is not uniform across communities, nor is it analogous to the condition of advanced age. Further, research indicates that vulnerability need not necessarily result in poor disaster outcomes if conditions foster an ability to respond to and manage adverse events. In fact, many scholars point to coping mechanisms developed over the life course as leaving older adults particularly well equipped to demonstrate strength and resilience in times of disaster. These psychological resources and practical skills may actually render seniors more resilient in many ways than their younger counterparts, challenging assumptions about their inherent vulnerability. Using narratives from seniors affected by the 2013 Colorado floods, this research explores themes of agency, vulnerability, and resilience among older adults, identifying linkages between these concepts as well as their implications for long term disaster recovery.

Author

• Nnenia Marie Campbell, University of Colorado Boulder