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Insights and Injustice: Identity-Driven Perceptions of Resilience Against Natural, Built and Social Hazards in the Eastern Caribbean

Year: 2020
Type: conference-abstract
Abstract: Human health is inextricably linked to natural, built and social environs. Under the threat of climate change impacts, residents of Eastern Caribbean small island developing states (ECSIDS) are particularly susceptible to environmental factors, many of which may interact with vulnerable identities to yield or exacerbate poor health. This study evaluated views around various health aspects among St. Kitts & Nevis (SKN) residents, ages 15 to 75, from 2015 to 2019. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to assess the likelihood of perceived resilience and vulnerability. Non-LGBTQ+ individuals were more likely than LGBTQ+ residents to perceive storm impacts in their communities (OR: 2.45; 95%CI: 1.11, 5.09), and had worse post-storm access to electricity (OR: 2.06; 95%CI: 1.02, 4.00) and worse post-storm waste management (OR: 2.05; 95%CI: 1.12, 3.70). LGBTQ+ residents more so than non-LGBTQ+ persons, considered water quality to be worse after a storm (OR:2.45; 95%CI: 1.11, 5.09). Non-LGBTQ+ residents were, relative to LGBTQ+ individuals, (a) less likely to perceive residential areas (OR: 0.46, 95%CI: 0.26, 0.83) and (b) more likely to perceive occupational settings (OR: 2.75; 95%CI: 1.54, 5.00) as being in worse conditions after a storm. Persons at least thirty years old had higher odds, compared to younger persons, of perceiving a decline in the condition of residential areas after storm activity (OR: 2.37; 95%CI: 1.53, 3.69), and viewing quality of transportation as worse post-storm (OR: 1.60; 95%CI: 1.07, 2.42). Health status (morbidity) did significantly influence how participants reported their own resilience when faced with various hazards. Findings have implications for how identity shapes climate change vulnerability and perceptions, thus supporting the rationale for further research into the resilience of potentially marginalized communities.
DOI: 10.1289/isee.2020.virtual.p-0348
Institution: Yale University
Language: English
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W3171646002
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