Community patterns of psychiatric disorders after the Exxon Valdez oil spill

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This study is from 1993


Am J Psychiatry. 1993 Oct;150(10):1517-23.
Community patterns of psychiatric disorders after the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

Palinkas LA, Petterson JS, Russell J, Downs MA.
Impact Assessment, Inc., La Jolla, Calif.
Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the relationship between exposure to the Exxon Valdez oil spill and subsequent cleanup efforts and the prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depressive symptoms in 13 Alaska communities. METHOD: A community survey of 599 men and women was conducted approximately 1 year after the spill occurred. Questions from the National Institute of Mental Health Diagnostic Interview Schedule were used to assess symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder and PTSD. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale was used to assess levels of depressive symptoms. RESULTS: The post-spill (i.e., 1-year) prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder and PTSD for the study communities with all degrees of exposure was 20.2% and 9.4%, respectively. The prevalence of respondents with CES-D Scale scores above 16 and 18 was 16.6% and 14.2%, respectively. When compared with the unexposed group, members of the high-exposure group were 3.6 times as likely to have generalized anxiety disorder, 2.9 times as likely to have PTSD, 1.8 times as likely to have a CES-D Scale score of 16 and above, and 2.1 times as likely to have a CES-D Scale score of 18 and above. Women exposed to this event were particularly vulnerable to these conditions, and Alaska Natives were particularly vulnerable to depressive symptoms after the oil spill.

CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the oil spill's impact on the psychosocial environment was as significant as its impact on the physical environment. The Exxon Valdez experience suggests a number of implications for the mental health needs of disaster victims, particularly in primary care settings.



PMID: 8379557 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8379557

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Re: Community patterns of psychiatric disorders after the Exxon Valdez oil spill

<center></center><center></center><center>The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill and Chronic Psychological Stress </center><center>J. STEVEN PICOU
University of South Alabama, Department of Sociology and Anthropology


Mobile, Alabama 36688-0002, USA </center><center>DUANE A. GILL
Mississippi State University, Social Science Research Center and
Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work
Mississippi State, Mississippi 39762, USA


</center><center>This article was first published in American Fisheries Society Symposium 18:879-893, 1996. </center>

<hr noshade="noshade">Abstract: We evaluated the long-term psychological impacts of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in terms of community structure and resource-based stress responses. Propositions and hypotheses that identify vulnerable communities and occupational groups were derived from an ecological-symbolic conceptualization of disaster impacts. Data collected from stratified random household samples in three Alaskan communities were used to empirically evaluate hypotheses. Chronic stress was documented for communities affected by the spill and for members of occupational groups most dependent on commercial fishing. These empirical findings support the need to recognize and evaluate stress in resource-de pendent human communities when technological disasters, such as the Exxon Valdez oil spill, occur. <hr noshade="noshade">

Over the last 25 years, the concept of disaster has been discussed, debated, and empirically studied in relation to an increasing variety of catastrophic events. As a result, the concept of "technological disaster" has emerged, bringing attention to the unique qualities and impacts of events that arise from failures of technology. The negative consequences of disasters stem from social responses to extreme stressors (Dynes 1993), yet some stress responses may vary according to the perceived source of the triggering event. For example, Tierney and Baisden (1979) identified greater long-term mental health impacts of the Buffalo Creek (West Virginia) dam collapse (a technological disaster) than of the Xenia (Ohio) tornado (a natural disaster). Researchers have extended this line of inquiry by investigating theoretical and applied issues related to the social and long-term psychological impacts of technological disasters (e.g., Erikson 1976, 1991, 1994; Titchener and Kapp 1976; Ahearn and Cohen 1984; Couch and Kroll-Smith 1985; Edelstein 1988; Bogard 1989; Kroll-Smith and Couch 1991a, 1993a, 1993b-). In general, these studies consistently indicate that technological disasters produce chronic social and psychological impacts.

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This line of inquiry suggests that a paradigm shift is occurring in disaster research as a result of the persistent empirical anomaly presented by studies that consistently document long-term negative mental health outcomes for victims of technological disasters.¹ Such a pattern of chronic impacts is relatively rare for victims of "natural" disasters (Kreps 1980; Drabek 1986). This paradigm shift has led disaster researchers to propose alternative theoretical approaches (Kroll-Smith and Couch 1991a, 1993a) and to call for longitudinal research designs (Solomon 1989; Maser and Solomon 1990).

Our study contributes to this line of inquiry by providing resource-based concepts of community stress response to evaluate hypotheses regarding long-term psychological stress resulting from the Exxon Valdez oil spill (EVOS). ²

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Full text of the study at:

http://www.jomiller.com/exxonvaldez/articles/picougill2.html