Repeated exposure to major disasters has long-term mental health impacts


Date:
January 16, 2022
Source:
Texas A&M University
Summary:
Repeated exposure to major disasters does not make people mentally
stronger, a recent study found: individuals who have been repeatedly
exposed to major disasters show a reduction in mental health scores.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Repeated exposure to major disasters does not make people mentally
stronger, a recent study from the Texas A&M University School of Public
Health found: individuals who have been repeatedly exposed to major
disasters show a reduction in mental health scores.


========================================================================== Additionally, the research team found that the more experience the
individuals had with such events, the lower their mental health was.

"We discovered the reverse of the adage 'what does not kill you makes
you stronger,'" said the study's lead author Garett Sansom, research
assistant professor in the Department of Environmental & Occupational
Health at the School of Public Health.

Sansom and a team of Texas A&M researchers studied individuals from the
Houston area, which is susceptible to hurricanes and flooding as well as industrial emergencies. The results of the study were published recently
in the journal Natural Hazards.

From 2000 to 2020, Texas -- one of the states most prone to natural
disasters - - experienced 33 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) declared major disasters. Many of these -- hurricanes, winter weather,
drought and flooding - - impacted the Houston area. The area has also
been impacted by emergencies such as explosions and chemical releases
at nearby industrial facilities.

According to the research team, the combination of natural disasters and emergencies from industrial facilities presents a unique opportunity to
observe the impacts.



========================================================================== "There is an unfortunate truth that many communities that reside along the
Gulf Coast are at the nexus of exposures from natural and anthropogenic,
or human- caused, hazards," Sansom said.

The team used a 12-item short form health survey to gather
information. The survey assessed cumulative impacts from exposure to
evaluate changes over time, producing a composite score for both mental
(MCS) and physical (PCS) health.

The majority of the respondents reported that they experienced many
hazardous events over the past five years. Hurricanes and flooding (96.35 percent) were the events experienced the most, followed by industrial
fires (96.08), chemical spills (86.84) and tornados (79.82).

The team found that when individuals experienced two or more events
over the past five years, their MCS averages fell below the expected
national levels.

"Mental health is often overlooked in responding to and preparing for
hazard exposures," Sansom said. "However, in order to reach community resilience efforts, mental conditions need to be accounted for."
The results of the study help to reveal the long-term mental impact
hazards can have. More importantly, they underscore the need for public
health interventions targeted toward these individuals as well as the communities where they reside.

Sansom's co-authors include Courtney Thompson and Lindsay Sansom, both
from the Texas A&M University Department of Geography, Leanne Fawkes,
graduate research assistant in Environmental & Occupational Health,
and Elizabeth Boerlin, doctoral student in Occupational Safety and Health.

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dreams in this free online course from New Scientist -- Sign_up_now_>>> academy.newscientist.com/courses/science-of-sleep-and-dreams ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Texas_A&M_University. Original
written by Tim Schnettler.

Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Garett T. Sansom, Courtney Thompson, Lindsay Sansom, Leanne Fawkes,
Elizabeth Boerlin. Compounding impacts of hazard exposures
on mental health in Houston, TX. Natural Hazards, 2022; DOI:
10.1007/s11069-021- 05158-x ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/01/220116081920.htm
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