Regardt Ferreira

Director of the Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy and Assistant Professor, Editor Traumatology Journal | Tulane University

New Orleans, LA, UNITED STATES

His main research focus is on disasters, focusing on disaster resilience and complex systems

Spotlight

What other storms can teach us about looming mental health impacts of Hurricane Ian

2022-10-07

Tulane trauma experts available to discuss mass school killing in Uvalde,Texas

2022-05-31

Biography

Reggie Ferreira PhD (University of Louisville), is the director of the Tulane University Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy, New Orleans. His work focuses on developing disaster resilience interventions for vulnerable populations across the globe, with work conducted in Europe, Africa, North America and South Asia. Over the past decade, he has been involved with several disaster risk reduction and resilience projects totaling $20 million in funding. He currently manages an interdisciplinary academic and applied research program at Tulane University focused on disaster resilience. He has established himself as a leading expert on vulnerability and resilience practices. He currently serves as the editor for the American Psychological Association’s, Traumatology journal focusing on disaster resilience. His work has appeared in national and international peer reviewed outlets, most recently his work has featured in popular media such as CNN, Reuters, HBO, NPR, MedScape and USA Today. Reggie hails from South Africa.

Areas of Expertise (2)

Coronavirus

COVID-19

Education (3)

University of Louisville & University of Kentucky: Ph.D., Social Work 2013

University of the Free State: B.S.W., Social Work 2006

University of the Free State: M.D.M., Disaster Managment 2008

Affiliations (7)

International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies : Member
Gerontological Society of America (GSA) : Member
Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) : Member
Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) : Member
Kentucky Association of Mitigation Managers (KAMM) : Member
International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) : Member
Disaster Management Institute of South Africa : Member

Links (5)

Media Appearances (4)

How the trauma of Hurricane Harvey plagues some survivors' mental health 1 year later

AccuWeather

2019-07-10

For some people, the approaching anniversary of the deadly storm might potentially trigger symptoms of PTSD, according to experts. “An anniversary can definitely bring back memories, and that can cause PTSD to skyrocket,” said Dr. Regardt Ferreira, an assistant professor at Tulane University’s School of Social Work.

Fire, displacement, diplomas: It’s graduation season in Paradise

Grist

2019-06-15

The inability to quickly return to routines — like going back to school — can make it harder for a child to cope with the stress of a disaster, said Regardt Ferreira, director of the Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy at Tulane University. Children whose lives are in prolonged upheaval can exhibit behavioral issues — like withdrawing from their surroundings, exhibiting bursts of anger, or developing post traumatic stress later on.

"Day Zero" looms over Cape Town

CNN

2018-02-05

Reggie Ferreira, Asst. Prof., Tulane University School of Social Work talks to CNN's Natalie Allen about the looming water crisis in Cape Town.

Why New Orleans Says “No, Thanks” to Disaster Research

Next City

2015-05-26

“It’s expected that people are interested and come here and do research,” says Regardt Ferreira, an assistant professor of social work at Tulane. “But from an insider view, people are fed up. It’s like, ‘You’ve had your chance, move on. Thanks, but no thanks.’”

Articles (3)

Cumulative disaster exposure, gender and the protective action decision model

Progress in Disaster Science

Jessica L Liddell, Leia Y Saltzman, Regardt J Ferreira, Amy E Lesen

2020 The relationship between gender, disaster exposure, and the Protective Action Decision Model (PADM) is explored through a survey administered to 326 Gulf Coast residents following the Deep-Water Horizon oil spill. Structural Equation Modeling was used to find that disaster exposure demonstrated a significant negative effect on PADM, such that greater exposure was associated with lower scores (g = −3.09, p 

Associations between attachment insecurities and psychological violence in a sample of court-mandated batterers

Violence and victims

Daniel Sonkin, Regardt J Ferreira, John Hamel, Fred Buttell, María T Frias

2019 We conducted a survey-based study looking at the associations among attachment insecurities (anxiety and avoidance), relationship functioning, and psychological domestic violence. We looked at three relationship functioning variables (ie, anger management, communication, and conflict resolution) and three domestic psychological violence variables (ie, derogation and control, jealous-hypervigilance, and threats-control of space). Data were collected from 76 male and 21 female court-mandated batterers. Participants completed the self-report measures of attachment insecurities, relationship functioning, and psychological domestic violence-related variables. Overall, attachment insecurities were negatively associated with relationship functioning and positively associated with psychological domestic violence outcomes.

Predictors of Individual Resilience: Gender Differences among African Americans

Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work

Regardt J Ferreira, Virginia Adolph, Michael Hall, Fred Buttell

2019 Objective: This study sought to investigate similarities and differences in resilience among African American females and males living in areas impacted by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and their ability to conserve resources. Methods: This research utilized a cross sectional design with 4,664 African American adults. Results: Standard multiple regression models indicated African American females had higher levels of individual resilience compared to lower levels of resilience amongst males. Differences in resource loss included depression and anxiety. Differences in resource protection included mental health status. Conclusions: Conservation of Resources theory provides a necessary understanding of these findings within a resource loss and gain model for socially vulnerable and marginalized populations impacted by disaster. Further results and implications for social work practice are discussed.