Psychological adaptation to the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of 1995: 16 years later victims still report lower levels of subjective well-being

Rebuilding wellbeing: Understanding the role of self-criticism, anger rumination, and death distress after the February 6, 2023, Türkiye Earthquake

This study investigated self-criticism, anger rumination, and death distress in wellbeing after one of the most devastating natural disasters of this century. The study included 399 participants from 56 different cities across Türkiye. Participants were from 3 groups: those who themselves or one of their nuclear families are earthquake survivors (group 1), those who had a loved one other than a nuclear family member who was an earthquake survivor (group 2), and those who were deeply affected by the earthquake through media networks (group 3). Results showed that women experienced higher death distress and anger rumination and lower mental wellbeing compared to men post-earthquake. Individuals in group 1 had significantly lower mental wellbeing and higher death distress than groups 2 and 3. However, the effect size of this significant differentiation depending on earthquake experience was small. Moreover, anger rumination and death distress fully mediated the link between self-criticism and mental wellbeing.

Development and validation of the Earthquake Obsession Scale

Earthquakes are natural disasters that are very destructive and whose timing is unknown. These disasters can have a very negative effect on people's mental health, and their effects can last for many years. This study examined the psychometric properties of a scale to measure earthquake obsession. Data were collected from adults living in different provinces of Türkiye (N = 732), who completed the new scale, Doomscrolling Scale, Death Distress Scale, and Mental Well-Being Scale. The Earthquake Obsession Scale (EOS) had a two-factor structure, good internal consistency reliability, and convergent and discriminant validity. Correlational analysis revealed that earthquake obsession was positively associated with doomscrolling and death anxiety, and negatively associated with well-being. Mediation analysis indicated that doomscrolling and death distress mediated the relationship between earthquake obsession and well-being. The results emphasized the potential of earthquake obsession to affect daily life negatively and revealed its relationship with psychological variables.

Tourism operator mental health and its relationship with SME organisational resilience during disasters

Crises have a negative, and often long-lasting impact on mental health. The stress of dealing with the ongoing and unpredictable aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an unprecedented rise in mental health problems including low mood, depression and anxiety. Tourism businesses have faced ongoing challenges, with repeated lockdowns and drastically reduced tourist numbers and mental health challenges faced by operators may impact the resilience of tourism organisations and vice versa. Few studies have examined this. Our study in Victoria, Australia documents the mental health impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on owners and managers (operators) of small to medium tourism businesses and explores organisational factors that may impact or protect operator mental health during the crisis. Our findings show that the mental health of the cohort reached critically low levels over the course of the pandemic. We also identify positive associations between tourism organisational resilience and operator mental health.

The Influence of Residents' Resilience on the Recovery in the Torrential Rain in Western Japan in 2018

In 2018 torrential rain caused serious human suffering and damage to property in western Japan. Following such disasters, the investigation of residents' subsequent recovery process is important to determine the support required in affected areas and disaster risk management. This study examines the effects of psychological resilience on residents' life recovery following the torrential rain. We conducted a web survey with 1,000 residents in 13 districts of Hiroshima prefecture and 6 districts of Okayama prefecture that suffered the most damage caused by the torrential rain. The survey used the "recovery calendar" approach to assess residents' life recovery from the disaster. Results indicated that residents who had suffered relatively little damage began to recover during the "disaster utopia" phase up to 2 months after the disaster. However, residents who had suffered serious damage began to recover during the "reentry to everyday life" phase up to 6 months after the disaster. Moreover, older residents or residents with strong psychological resilience who suffered serious damage were likely to recover sooner than those with weaker psychological resilience. Therefore, this study indicates the importance of an approach to disaster recovery according to the level of damage, phased time period, and psychological resilience.

How COVID-19 affected mental well-being: An 11- week trajectories of daily well-being of Koreans amidst COVID-19 by age, gender and region

The present study examined the daily well-being of Koreans (n = 353,340) for 11 weeks during the COVID-19 pandemic (January 20 -April 7). We analyzed whether and how life satisfaction, positive affect, negative affect, and life meaning changed during the outbreak. First, we found that the well-being of Koreans changed daily in a cubic fashion, such that it declined and recovered during the early phase but declined substantially during the later phase (after COVID- 19 was declared world pandemic by WHO). Second, unlike other emotions, boredom displayed a distinctive pattern of linear increase, especially for younger people, suggesting that boredom might be, in part, responsible for their inability to comply with social distancing recommendations. Third, the well-being of older people and males changed less compared to younger people and females. Finally, daily well-being dropped significantly more in the hard-hit regions than in other regions. Implications and limitations are discussed.

Long-term effects of housing damage on survivors' health in rural China: Evidence from a survey 10 Years after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake

BACKGROUND

Disaster experiences have long-term health effects. However, less is known about the pathways of the association between disaster experiences and people's long-term health. We aimed to examine the long-term (10-year) effect of housing damage in the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake on survivors' health and to explore the pathways of the long-term effect.

METHODS

We used data from a survey conducted in 2018 in rural areas affected by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. The survey collected information on housing damage caused by the earthquake from survivors aged 18 years old or above. Our primary outcome was dichotomous self-rated health in 2018. We considered decreased living standards and debt burden as mediators. To examine the long-term effect of housing damage on health, we performed multivariable binary logistic regression models. We also performed mediation analyses using the "KHB-method".

RESULTS

Compared with no/slight damage, serious damage (odds ratio (OR): 1.50, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.11,2.04) and collapse (OR: 1.57, 95% CI: 1.13,2.18) were associated with a higher risk of poor health. Decreased living standards and debt burden mediated 8.49% and 4.79%, respectively, of the association between serious damage and poor health and 10.64% and 6.10%, respectively, of the association between collapse and poor health.

CONCLUSION

Housing damage in a natural disaster is a long-term risk for survivors' health. Long-term policies and interventions are necessary to protect and promote the health of survivors who experience housing damage. In addition to house reconstruction assistance, policies and interventions can be designed to promote living standards and financial situations to protect survivors' health.

Design and Validation of the Adaptation to Change Questionnaire: New Realities in Times of COVID-19

Emotional and cognitive-behavioral factors influence people's adaptability to change. Based on this premise, the objective of this study was to develop, evaluate and validate the Adaptation to Change Questionnaire (ADAPTA-10) for identifying those who show poor adaptability to adverse situations, such as those caused by COVID-19. This study was carried out in a sample of 1160 adults and produced a 10-item instrument with good reliability and validity indices. It is an effective tool useful in research and in clinical practice. Calculation tables are provided for the general Spanish population and by sex to evaluate adaptability to change. The two-dimensional structure proposed in the original model was confirmed. This instrument will enable the needs for adaptation to the new reality associated with COVID-19 to be detected and also other situations in which the subject becomes immersed which demand adaptation strategies in the new situation lived in.

Psychological distress after the Great East Japan Earthquake: two multilevel 6-year prospective analyses

BACKGROUND

The Great East Japan Earthquake of 11 March 2011 led to the relocation of 300 000 survivors. Studies following disasters focus primarily on data collected in the immediate aftermath and neglect the influence of wider community factors.

AIMS

A three-level prospective study examining associations between survivors' psychological distress and individual- and social-level factors in the 6 years following a complex disaster.

METHOD

We drew on two multi-wave data collections in the 6 years after the earthquake, using residents from different forms of housing. Sample 1 included six waves of private-housing residents from 2011 to 2016 (n = 1084 per wave), sample 2 five waves of residents living in prefabricated housing from 2012 to 2016 (n = 1515 per wave). We analysed prospective associations between distress and time (level 1), pre-existing disorders and disaster experiences and behaviours (level 2) and city-wide measures of support and physical activity (level 3).

RESULTS

Multilevel models with random coefficients demonstrated greater distress in earlier waves (samples 1 and 2 respectively, adjusted β = -15 and β = -0.16, P < 0.001), among female respondents (β = 0.58, P = 0.01 and β = 1.74, P = 0.001), in those with a previous psychiatric history (β = 2.76, β = 2.06, P < 0.001) with diminished levels of activity post-earthquake (β = 1.40, β = 1.51, P < 0.001) and those lacking in social support (β = 1.95, β = 1.51, P < 0.001). Support from spouses and friends was most protective of psychological health. City-level support was negatively associated with distress, but only among those in prefabricated housing.

CONCLUSIONS

Psychological distress diminished with time, but varied across gender, psychiatric history, housing, levels of activity and availability of social support. Practitioners should consider individual- and city-level factors when devising effective interventions.

Twelve years later: The long-term mental health consequences of Hurricane Katrina

In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina caused unprecedented damage, widespread population displacement, and exposed Gulf Coast residents to traumatic events. The hurricane's adverse impact on survivors' mental health was apparent shortly after the storm and persisted, but no study has examined the long-term effects now that more than a decade has transpired. Using new data from a panel study of low-income mothers interviewed once before Hurricane Katrina and now three times after, we document changes in mental health, and estimate the sociodemographic and hurricane-related factors associated with long-term trajectories of mental health. We find that post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) declined at each of the three post-Katrina follow-ups, but 12 years after the hurricane, one in six still had symptoms indicative of probable post-traumatic stress disorder. The rate of non-specific psychological distress (PD) remained consistently higher in all three follow-ups, compared to the pre-disaster period. In full covariate-adjusted models, no sociodemographic variables predicted long-run combinations of PTSS and PD. However, 12 years later, exposure to hurricane-related traumatic events and pre-disaster PD significantly predicted co-occurring PTSS and PD. Hurricane-related housing damage predicted PTSS in earlier follow-ups, but no longer predicted PTSS in the long-term. Furthermore, hurricane-related traumatic events significantly differentiated the risk of having persistent PTSS, relative to recovering from PTSS. The results suggest that there is still a non-negligible group of survivors with continued need for recovery resources and that exposure to traumatic events is a primary predictor of adverse mental health more than a decade post-disaster.

Post-disaster mental health and psychosocial support in the areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Few studies exploring the actual practices implemented for long-term mental health and psychosocial support after a natural disaster have been published. This study aimed to reveal (1) the types of activities that were actually provided as mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) in the long-term phase after the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) and (2) the problems that must be addressed to provide post-disaster MHPSS activities.

METHODS

An open-ended questionnaire was sent to organizations in the Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures that were potentially involved in providing MHPSS to communities affected by the GEJE. The organizations were asked to describe their activities and the problems that needed to be addressed to provide these support activities. The collected statements were analysed using content analysis with NVivo11.

RESULTS

The support activities conducted to provide MHPSS in the long-term phase after the catastrophe were diverse and classified into 7 major categories, namely, (1) one-on-one support for individuals in need of assistance, (2) support for collective activities, (3) support around living conditions and income, (4) increasing public awareness about mental health, (5) human resource development to improve response capabilities for MHPSS, (6) support for MHPSS providers, and (7) facilitating collaborations among the MHPSS activities provided to affected communities. Problems with human resources and funding were the most frequently mentioned concerns among the organizations participating in the survey.

CONCLUSIONS

The establishment of systems to collect and share sufficient and relevant knowledge and to coordinate organizations for long-term post-disaster postventions would be desirable.

Does A Major Earthquake Change Attitudes and Well-Being Judgments? A Natural Experiment

Does a major natural disaster change life satisfaction? This study is a rare natural experiment, in which roughly half of the respondents completed the survey before and the other half completed it after the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011. A series of regression discontinuity design analyses showed that those who completed the survey after the earthquake reported being less satisfied with their lives than those who happened to complete the survey before the earthquake. There were no discontinuity on demographic variables and other consumer attitudes. The main findings remained virtually unchanged when we controlled for Big Five personality traits and demographic variables. Together, the current findings suggest that the experience of a major natural disaster changes their life satisfaction at least in the short run.

The Long-Run Socio-Economic Consequences of a Large Disaster: The 1995 Earthquake in Kobe

We quantify the 'permanent' socio-economic impacts of the Great Hanshin-Awaji (Kobe) earthquake in 1995 by employing a large-scale panel dataset of 1,719 cities, towns, and wards from Japan over three decades. In order to estimate the counterfactual--i.e., the Kobe economy without the earthquake--we use the synthetic control method. Three important empirical patterns emerge: First, the population size and especially the average income level in Kobe have been lower than the counterfactual level without the earthquake for over fifteen years, indicating a permanent negative effect of the earthquake. Such a negative impact can be found especially in the central areas which are closer to the epicenter. Second, the surrounding areas experienced some positive permanent impacts in spite of short-run negative effects of the earthquake. Much of this is associated with movement of people to East Kobe, and consequent movement of jobs to the metropolitan center of Osaka, that is located immediately to the East of Kobe. Third, the furthest areas in the vicinity of Kobe seem to have been insulated from the large direct and indirect impacts of the earthquake.