Stress, social support and affective disorders in mothers of pre-school children--a test of the stress-buffering effect of social support

Social and Mental Health Impact of Nuclear Disaster in Survivors: A Narrative Review

This narrative review synthesizes the literature on the psychological consequences of the Three Mile Island nuclear accident of 1979, the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986, and the Fukushima nuclear disaster of 2011. A search was conducted on OVID for studies in English from 1966 to 2020. Fifty-nine studies were included. Living through a nuclear disaster is associated with higher levels of PTSD, depression, and anxiety. Decontamination workers, those living in closest proximity to the reactor, and evacuees experience higher rates of mental health problems after a nuclear disaster. Those with greater psychological resilience and social supports experience lower rates of psychological distress. Individual-level interventions, such as mindfulness training, behavioral activation, and cognitive reappraisal training, have shown modest benefits on improving psychological wellbeing. At the population level, many of the measures in place aimed at reducing exposure to radiation actually increase individuals’ anxiety. Technology-based supports have been studied in other types of natural disasters and it may be beneficial to look at mobile-based interventions for future nuclear disasters.

Heterogeneous Influences of Social Support on Physical and Mental Health: Evidence from China

Employing a national representative survey (the China Labor-force Dynamics Survey 2016, CLDS2016) data (N = 14246), this paper examines the heterogeneous influences of social support on individual physical and mental health in China. Social support is characterized by four dimensions: emotional support, tangible or instrumental support, interaction or exchange support, and community support. Physical health is measured by self-rated health and body mass index (BMI), while mental health is measured by depression, hopelessness, failure, fear, loneliness, and meaninglessness. The results indicate that different dimensions of social support have heterogeneous effects on individual physical and mental health. Specifically, the correlation between emotional support and individual physical health is not significant, but emotional support is significantly related to some mental health variables. Tangible or instrumental support is significantly related to individual self-rated physical health but not to BMI or mental health. Interaction or exchange support is significantly correlated with individual self-rated health and some mental health variables. In general, there are significant correlations between community support, and individual physical and mental health. The results also suggest that the influences of social support on physical and mental health of individuals at different ages (<60 years and ≥60 years) are heterogeneous. The results of this study provide direction for the dimension selection of social support to promote individual health.

Disasters and perinatal health:a systematic review

BACKGROUND

The empirical literature on the effects of disaster on pregnancy and the postpartum period is limited. The objective of this review was to examine the existing evidence on the effect of disasters on perinatal health.

METHODS

A systematic review was conducted by searching electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cinahl, PsycInfo), including literature on disasters and pregnancy outcomes (e.g., preterm birth, low birth weight, congenital anomalies), mental health, and child development. A total of 110 articles were identified, but many published reports were anecdotes or recommendations rather than systematic studies. The final review included 49 peer-reviewed studies that met inclusion criteria.

RESULTS

Studies addressing the World Trade Center disaster of September 11 and other terrorist attacks, environmental/chemical disasters, and natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes were identified. Disasters of various types may reduce fetal growth in some women, although there does not appear to be an effect on gestational age at birth. Severity of exposure is the major predictor of mental health issues among pregnant and postpartum women. After a disaster, mental health of the mother may more strongly influence on child development than any direct effect of disaster-related prenatal stress.

CONCLUSIONS

There is evidence that disaster impacts maternal mental health and some perinatal health outcomes, particular among highly exposed women. Future research should focus on understudied outcomes such as spontaneous abortion. Relief workers and clinicians should concentrate on the most exposed women, particularly with respect to mental health.

TARGET AUDIENCE

Obstetricians & Gynecologists.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After completion of this educational activity, the obstetrician/gynecologist should be better able to compare and contrast the effects of different types of disasters (hurricanes, earthquakes, chemical spills) on pregnant and postpartum women in order to prepare for patient care in the aftermath of such disasters; differentiate the birth outcomes likely to be affected by disaster, in order to identify patients likely to be at high risk; and assess the extent to which pregnant and postpartum women are a uniquely vulnerable population after disaster, to assist in organizing care under such circumstances.

DIRECT AND INDIRECT EFFECTS OF SOCIAL SUPPORT ON PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING

The aim of this study was to investigate the direct and indirect effects of social support on psychological well-being. Social support was evaluated under two different categories which were named as Aid-Related and Appreciation-Related Socia+l Support. The first category was more related to potential for receiving help from others when needed, and being cared for by others, while the latter category was more related to being recognized by others as an efficient source of help and reassurance of worth. Undergraduate university students (N =342) served as subjects, and results revealed that aid-related social support and psychological well-being (i.e., alleviated depression symptoms) association was partially mediated by experiencing fewer life stresses. On the other hand, appreciation-related social support had a direct effect on psychological well-being. Implications of these results are discussed.

60,000 disaster victims speak: Part II. Summary and implications of the disaster mental health research

On the basis of the literature reviewed in Part I of this two-part series (Norris, Friedman, Watson, Byrne, Diaz, and Kaniasty, this volume), the authors recommend early intervention following disasters, especially when the disaster is associated with extreme and widespread damage to property, ongoing financial problems for the stricken community, violence that resulted from human intent, and a high prevalence of trauma in the form of injuries, threat to life, and loss of life. Meeting the mental health needs of children, women, and survivors in developing countries is particularly critical. The family context is central to understanding and meeting those needs. Because of the complexity of disasters and responses to them, inter-agency cooperation and coordination are extremely important elements of the mental health response. Altogether, the research demands that we think ecologically and design and test societal- and community-level interventions for the population at large and conserve scarce clinical resources for those most in need.

The family life cycle: a forgotten variable in the study of women's employment and well-being

One hundred and sixteen working-class housewives, part-time and full-time employees were compared on a range of well-being measures in three different lifestages. A group of factory employees was contrasted with a 'mixed occupation' group for a comparison of type of employment. The general contention that the association between employment and well-being would vary with position in the life cycle was confirmed for distress, physical illness and some of the satisfaction measures. Only one measure (personal competence) suggested that employment had a positive influence on well-being irrespective of lifestage. Young employees working for longer hours and older housewives were both defined as 'cases' by the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). However, their profiles on the other well-being variables were very different.

The buffer theory of social support--a review of the literature

The buffer theory postulates that social support moderates the power of psychosocial adversity to precipitate episodes of illness. In this paper, we review the theory as applied to minor affective disturbances. Research in this area suffers because of the many disparate conceptualizations of social support and the resulting difficulty of deciding on the content of measures. Moreover, the meaning of the term buffering is itself unclear. These problems have not, however, inhibited research, and many cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have now been carried out. Our review leads to the conclusion that evidence for a buffering role of social support is inconsistent, reflecting methodological differences between studies but probably also indicating that buffering effects are not of dramatic proportions. Moreover, it is possible that the observed relationships are the result of spurious association or contamination of measures.