Gender and Disasters

Gender Differences in Seeking Information

Differences based on gender have emerged in information-seeking after disasters. These differences appear to indicate a pattern that could be potentially useful, such as for risk message creation and broadcast. After September 11, 2001, research revealed that radio and television were perceived as most useful to women. A study conducted in Israel examined information-seeking and terrorism. It indicated that men preferred to obtain information from visual media such as television, whereas women preferred nonvisual media such as newspapers and radio.

After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, similar patterns of media use emerged. Women were more likely to engage in both mediated and nonmediated information seeking. They were also more likely than men to place importance on information concerning food and water, evacuation, shelter, rescue efforts, the larger impact of the storm, who else was affected, friends and family, and the location of medical care. This line of research indicates a continued difference in the type of information women seek after a disaster. Relational and task information, in addition to issues of safety, are a principle concern.

Physical and Psychological Variations

Gender variation in morbidity and mortality also manifest in disaster research. Women appear to experience more harm during a disaster and through secondary effects. This is true in Western civilization as well as the developing world. Emotional differences also are apparent as a result of disasters. Many researchers have found that women experience more symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of disaster exposure, while other research argues that the emotional effects of disaster are consistent between the sexes. Furthermore, it has been observed that males are more likely to experience emotional reactions that will surface in behaviors or behavioral advocacy. While anger reactions are common among both males and females after extreme events, males are more likely to channel such stress into outwardly directed hostility.

This raises the issue of the underlying psychological process that may be at work to produce such stark [Page 242][Page 243]differences in needs and responses between the sexes. Ruminative thought patterns, whereby a person's thoughts continually dwell on the disaster event or its consequences, are a potential explanation.

A clear relationship between media use and stress has been observed, consistent with past research exploring the psychology of rumination. It is further argued that individuals who engage in rumination tend to think passively and repetitively about any negative emotions that might be elicited by or related to traumatic events. This is a departure from more functional coping strategies, such as social support or reframing, in that the bulk of attention and cognitive energy is directed toward distress symptoms. Those possessing rumination tendencies may experience more severe depressive episodes following a traumatic event. Moreover, it has been argued that gender differences in depressive responses may be attributable to differences between the sexes in rumination tendencies. Women may be more comfortable acknowledging and expressing negative emotions. This is consistent with the aforementioned findings articulating gender differences in emotional responses and information-seeking. Stark differences between the sexes have been reported in the crisis and disaster literature, with women consistently reporting higher levels of fear, sorrow, and sadness. Given that at least one study has found this difference in an instance in which there were no detectable differences in the volume of information sought, differences in psychological processing may be the root of these sex differences.

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