Framing perceptions of oil development and social disruption

This paper examines the perceived relationship between the presence and growth of the offshore oil industry in Louisiana and patterns of social disruption, particularly crime. Interview data were obtained from long-time residents in the coastal region of Louisiana, and a social constructionist perspective was used to frame the perceptions of these individuals (N = 94). Much previous research on the effects offshore oil development and its cyclical expansion and contraction has been premised on a boom/bust social impact model reflecting the experience of resource extraction in communities in the Western United States. In contrast to this literature, we found our subjects perceived far less in the way of disorganizing effects of oil development, and for the most part suggested the impacts to be either benign or positive. There was little support for a boom/bust model of community disruption, and thus we suggest research in this area consider alternative paradigms of interpretation of social impact.