Regional differences in the psychological recovery of Christchurch residents following the 2010/2011 earthquakes: a longitudinal study

National longitudinal evidence for growth in subjective well-being from spiritual beliefs

Previous research finds an association between spirituality and subjective well-being. However, the widespread use of poorly defined concepts of spirituality, tautological spirituality scales, and heavy reliance on cross-sectional samples cast doubts on prior findings. Here, we leverage ten waves of panel data from a nationally diverse longitudinal study to systematically test whether having spiritual beliefs leads to growth in personal well-being and life satisfaction (N = 3257, New Zealand, 2010-2020). Contrary to previous research, we find that belief in a spirit or life force predicts lower personal well-being and life satisfaction. However, in support of previous speculation, belief (relative to disbelief) in a spirit or life force predicts increasing personal well-being and life satisfaction over time. These findings are robust even while accounting for known demographic influences; they even hold among those who believe in a God but disbelieve in a spirit or life force. The recent growth in spiritual beliefs and decline in traditional religion across many industrial societies motivates further causal investigations of the mechanisms by which spiritual beliefs lead to growth in subjective well-being.

A systematic review of the psychological impacts of the Canterbury earthquakes on mental health

OBJECTIVE

This systematic review aims to identify and evaluate all studies that measured psychological distress or mental disorder following the Canterbury earthquakes to establish the psychological consequences of the earthquakes on those exposed. A secondary aim is to outline and emphasise key methodological factors in disaster research.

METHOD

Eligible studies were identified following a comprehensive literature search. A quality assessment was undertaken for all included studies. This was followed by methodological and descriptive review.

RESULTS

Thirty-one papers measuring psychological distress or mental disorder following the Canterbury earthquakes were identified. These papers reported outcomes from 20 separate studies of which seven were rated high-quality, eight were rated medium and five were rated low-quality. Key methodological findings and outcomes are discussed for each study.

CONCLUSION

The Canterbury earthquakes were associated with widespread but not universal adverse effects on mental health. Disaster research quality is assisted by representative samples, repeated measures, and the use of appropriate controls to allow accurate assessments of psychological consequences to be made. Implications for public health: The presence of widespread adverse effects as a result of the earthquakes suggests broad-ranging community initiatives are essential to mitigate the negative consequences of disasters.

Longitudinal health and disaster impact in older New Zealand adults in the 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquake series

Pre-existing longitudinal studies of people affected by disasters provide opportunities to examine the effects of these events on health. Data used in the current investigation were provided by participants in the New Zealand Health, Work and Retirement longitudinal surveys conducted in 2010, 2012 and 2014 (n = 428; aged 50-83), who lived in the Canterbury region of New Zealand during the 2010-2011 earthquakes. Latent profile growth analyses were used to identify groups of respondents who had similar pre-post-disaster physical and mental health profiles. These groups were compared in terms of demographic factors, personal impact of the earthquakes assessed in 2012 and the overall negative-positive impact of the earthquake assessed in 2014. There was little evidence of change in health status overtime. Groups did not differ in their experiences of threat or disruption, however those in poorest health reported greatest distress and a more negative overall impact of the earthquake. Although results suggest little impact of disasters on health of surviving older adults, pre-disaster vulnerabilities were associated with distress. Social workers and agencies responsible for disaster response can play a key role in pre-disaster planning and assessment of vulnerabilities of older adults to enhance potential for positive outcomes post-disaster.

The effects of spatially varying earthquake impacts on mood and anxiety symptom treatments among long-term Christchurch residents following the 2010/11 Canterbury earthquakes, New Zealand

This study investigates the effects of disruptions to different community environments, community resilience and cumulated felt earthquake intensities on yearly mood and anxiety symptom treatments from the New Zealand Ministry of Health's administrative databases between September 2009 and August 2012. The sample includes 172,284 long-term residents from different Christchurch communities. Living in a better physical environment was associated with lower mood and anxiety treatment rates after the beginning of the Canterbury earthquake sequence whereas an inverse effect could be found for social community environment and community resilience. These results may be confounded by pre-existing patterns, as well as intensified treatment-seeking behaviour and intervention programmes in severely affected areas. Nevertheless, the findings indicate that adverse mental health outcomes can be found in communities with worse physical but stronger social environments or community resilience post-disaster. Also, they do not necessarily follow felt intensities since cumulative earthquake intensity did not show a significant effect.