Mental health and general wellness in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike
Sarah Lowe, Spruha Joshi, Robert H. Pietrzak, Sandro Galea, Magdalena Cerdá
Exposure to natural disasters has been linked to a range of adverse outcomes, including mental health problems (e.g., posttraumatic stress symptoms [PTSS], depression), declines in role functioning (e.g., occupational difficulties), and physical health problems (e.g., somatic complaints). However, prior research and theory suggest that the modal postdisaster response in each of these domains is resilience, defined as low levels of symptoms or problems in a given outcome over time, with minimal elevations that are limited to the time period during the disaster and its immediate aftermath. However, the extent to which disaster survivors exhibit mental health wellness (resilience across multiple mental health conditions) or general wellness (resilience across mental health, physical health, and role functioning domains) remains unexplored. The purpose of this study was to quantify mental health and general wellness, and to examine predictors of each form of wellness, in a three-wave population-based study of Hurricane Ike survivors (N=658). Latent class growth analysis was used to determine the frequency of resilience on four outcomes (PTSS: 74.9%; depression: 57.9%; functional impairment: 45.1%; days of poor health: 52.6%), and cross-tabulations were used to determine the frequency of mental health wellness (51.2%) and general wellness (26.1%). Significant predictors of both mental health and general wellness included lower peri-event emotional reactions and higher community-level collective efficacy; loss of sentimental possessions or pets and disaster-related financial loss were negative predictors of mental health wellness, and loss of personal property was a negative predictor of general wellness. The results suggest that studies focusing on a single postdisaster outcome may have overestimated the prevalence of mental health and general wellness, and that peri-event responses, personal property loss and collective efficacy have a cross-cutting influence across multiple domains of postdisaster functioning.
162e170-170
Social Science and Medicine
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.11.032
Cyclonic Storms
Role functioning
Lowe, S., Joshi, S., Pietrzak, R. H., Galea, S., & Cerdá, M. (2015). Mental health and general wellness in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. Social Science and Medicine, 124, 162e170-170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.11.032
Lowe, Sarah ; Joshi, Spruha ; Pietrzak, Robert H. ; Galea, Sandro ; Cerdá, Magdalena. / Mental health and general wellness in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. In: Social Science and Medicine. 2015 ; Vol. 124. pp. 162e170-170.
@article{cfa0945e0dd54b02be43a1e631971fdc,
title = "Mental health and general wellness in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike",
abstract = "Exposure to natural disasters has been linked to a range of adverse outcomes, including mental health problems (e.g., posttraumatic stress symptoms [PTSS], depression), declines in role functioning (e.g., occupational difficulties), and physical health problems (e.g., somatic complaints). However, prior research and theory suggest that the modal postdisaster response in each of these domains is resilience, defined as low levels of symptoms or problems in a given outcome over time, with minimal elevations that are limited to the time period during the disaster and its immediate aftermath. However, the extent to which disaster survivors exhibit mental health wellness (resilience across multiple mental health conditions) or general wellness (resilience across mental health, physical health, and role functioning domains) remains unexplored. The purpose of this study was to quantify mental health and general wellness, and to examine predictors of each form of wellness, in a three-wave population-based study of Hurricane Ike survivors (N=658). Latent class growth analysis was used to determine the frequency of resilience on four outcomes (PTSS: 74.9{\%}; depression: 57.9{\%}; functional impairment: 45.1{\%}; days of poor health: 52.6{\%}), and cross-tabulations were used to determine the frequency of mental health wellness (51.2{\%}) and general wellness (26.1{\%}). Significant predictors of both mental health and general wellness included lower peri-event emotional reactions and higher community-level collective efficacy; loss of sentimental possessions or pets and disaster-related financial loss were negative predictors of mental health wellness, and loss of personal property was a negative predictor of general wellness. The results suggest that studies focusing on a single postdisaster outcome may have overestimated the prevalence of mental health and general wellness, and that peri-event responses, personal property loss and collective efficacy have a cross-cutting influence across multiple domains of postdisaster functioning.",
keywords = "Mental health, Natural disasters, Physical health, Resilience, Role functioning, Wellness",
author = "Sarah Lowe and Spruha Joshi and Pietrzak, {Robert H.} and Sandro Galea and Magdalena Cerd{\'a}",
doi = "10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.11.032",
pages = "162e170--170",
journal = "Social Science and Medicine",
publisher = "Elsevier Ltd",
Lowe, S, Joshi, S, Pietrzak, RH, Galea, S & Cerdá, M 2015, 'Mental health and general wellness in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike', Social Science and Medicine, vol. 124, pp. 162e170-170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.11.032
Mental health and general wellness in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. / Lowe, Sarah; Joshi, Spruha; Pietrzak, Robert H.; Galea, Sandro; Cerdá, Magdalena.
In: Social Science and Medicine, Vol. 124, 01.01.2015, p. 162e170-170.
T1 - Mental health and general wellness in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike
AU - Lowe, Sarah
AU - Joshi, Spruha
AU - Pietrzak, Robert H.
AU - Galea, Sandro
AU - Cerdá, Magdalena
N2 - Exposure to natural disasters has been linked to a range of adverse outcomes, including mental health problems (e.g., posttraumatic stress symptoms [PTSS], depression), declines in role functioning (e.g., occupational difficulties), and physical health problems (e.g., somatic complaints). However, prior research and theory suggest that the modal postdisaster response in each of these domains is resilience, defined as low levels of symptoms or problems in a given outcome over time, with minimal elevations that are limited to the time period during the disaster and its immediate aftermath. However, the extent to which disaster survivors exhibit mental health wellness (resilience across multiple mental health conditions) or general wellness (resilience across mental health, physical health, and role functioning domains) remains unexplored. The purpose of this study was to quantify mental health and general wellness, and to examine predictors of each form of wellness, in a three-wave population-based study of Hurricane Ike survivors (N=658). Latent class growth analysis was used to determine the frequency of resilience on four outcomes (PTSS: 74.9%; depression: 57.9%; functional impairment: 45.1%; days of poor health: 52.6%), and cross-tabulations were used to determine the frequency of mental health wellness (51.2%) and general wellness (26.1%). Significant predictors of both mental health and general wellness included lower peri-event emotional reactions and higher community-level collective efficacy; loss of sentimental possessions or pets and disaster-related financial loss were negative predictors of mental health wellness, and loss of personal property was a negative predictor of general wellness. The results suggest that studies focusing on a single postdisaster outcome may have overestimated the prevalence of mental health and general wellness, and that peri-event responses, personal property loss and collective efficacy have a cross-cutting influence across multiple domains of postdisaster functioning.
AB - Exposure to natural disasters has been linked to a range of adverse outcomes, including mental health problems (e.g., posttraumatic stress symptoms [PTSS], depression), declines in role functioning (e.g., occupational difficulties), and physical health problems (e.g., somatic complaints). However, prior research and theory suggest that the modal postdisaster response in each of these domains is resilience, defined as low levels of symptoms or problems in a given outcome over time, with minimal elevations that are limited to the time period during the disaster and its immediate aftermath. However, the extent to which disaster survivors exhibit mental health wellness (resilience across multiple mental health conditions) or general wellness (resilience across mental health, physical health, and role functioning domains) remains unexplored. The purpose of this study was to quantify mental health and general wellness, and to examine predictors of each form of wellness, in a three-wave population-based study of Hurricane Ike survivors (N=658). Latent class growth analysis was used to determine the frequency of resilience on four outcomes (PTSS: 74.9%; depression: 57.9%; functional impairment: 45.1%; days of poor health: 52.6%), and cross-tabulations were used to determine the frequency of mental health wellness (51.2%) and general wellness (26.1%). Significant predictors of both mental health and general wellness included lower peri-event emotional reactions and higher community-level collective efficacy; loss of sentimental possessions or pets and disaster-related financial loss were negative predictors of mental health wellness, and loss of personal property was a negative predictor of general wellness. The results suggest that studies focusing on a single postdisaster outcome may have overestimated the prevalence of mental health and general wellness, and that peri-event responses, personal property loss and collective efficacy have a cross-cutting influence across multiple domains of postdisaster functioning.
KW - Mental health
KW - Natural disasters
KW - Physical health
KW - Role functioning
KW - Wellness
U2 - 10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.11.032
DO - 10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.11.032
SP - 162e170-170
JO - Social Science and Medicine
JF - Social Science and Medicine
Lowe S, Joshi S, Pietrzak RH, Galea S, Cerdá M. Mental health and general wellness in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. Social Science and Medicine. 2015 Jan 1;124:162e170-170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.11.032
10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.11.032