Document Type
Dissertation
Date of Award
2026
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Health Science
First Advisor
Joy R Karges-Brown
Abstract
In the fall semester of 2020, five hurricanes were projected to make landfall along the coast of Louisiana. The following fall semester of 2021, Hurricane Ida, a major category 4 storm landed and wreaked havoc among Louisiana’s coastal universities. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of hurricane events on students’ perceived stress, academic performance, and resilience. It was hypothesized that students affected by the landfall of a hurricane would have increased stress, decreased academic motivation, and decreased resilience compared to normative college students. A cross-sectional survey was administered at two southern Louisiana universities as well as a control group utilizing students at a midwestern university. 173 students from Southeastern Louisiana University, Nicholls State University, and the University of South Dakota were polled for the quantitative descriptive study. Survey instruments used were demographic questions, the Perceived Stress Scale, the Academic Motivation Scale, and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. Frequencies and descriptive statistics for the demographic and survey questions were scored using t-tests, ANOVAs, and Pearson Correlations to compare instrument scores to offer a picture of the levels of stress that these students faced in the aftermath of the hurricane events and the impact of stress on student academic performance and resilience. Results from the statistical analyses validate the association between hurricane-related stress negatively affecting college students. Those students experienced less academic motivation, however, ultimately gained more resilience over the testing time period.
Subject Categories
Medicine and Health Sciences
Keywords
None Provided
Number of Pages
179
Publisher
University of South Dakota
Recommended Citation
Harrington, Courtney Renee, "EFFECTS OF HURRICANE WEATHER EVENTS ON PERCEIVED STRESS, ACADEMIC MOTIVATION, AND RESILIENCE IN COLLEGE STUDENTS FROM LOUISIANA" (2026). Dissertations and Theses. 441.
https://red.library.usd.edu/diss-thesis/441