Transcript The psychological cost of the floods

Investigating the
psychological cost of the
floods
Victoria Mason, Allan Jones, Holly
Andrews, Dominic Upton
Psychology and Health Sciences,
University of Worcester
Background
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Floods affecting Worcestershire,
Herefordshire and Gloucestershire in July
2007
Unique opportunity to assess the impact
Previous research
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Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
following a range of natural disasters
Studies have found the overall prevalence
rate of PTSD to range from 1.0 – 24%
8.6% prevalence in people affected by
floods in china (Liu et al, 2006)
Dearth of qualitative studies
PTSD
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ICD-10 and DSM-IV
Anxiety disorder following exposure to
trauma
Symptoms include
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Trauma re-experiencing, emotional numbing
or avoidance and exaggerated arousal
Why do some develop and not others?
Risk factors
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Female, trauma type, low socioeconomic
status, exposure to previous traumatic
events, previous mental disorders such as
anxiety and depression, emotional distress
Frans et al., 2005; Kessler et al., 1995;
Perkonigg et al., 2000; Rosenman, 2002
Aims
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To assess the psychological impact of the floods
To estimate the prevalence rate of PTSD
To identify risk factors of PTSD
To gather more in-depth information on the
experience and impact of the floods and its
aftermath to contextualise the data derived from
the quantitative phase
Method
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Phase I
Postal survey of flood affected households
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Whychavon (N=1550) (November 2007)
Tewkesbury (N=1662) (January 2008)
Self-selected (N=30) (January/February 2008)
Collected
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Demographic information
Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ, 40 items)
Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL, 25 items)
Coping Style Questionnaire (CSQ, 60 items)
Method
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Phase II
In-depth qualitative study of flood affected
individuals
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Personal experience
Results
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Phase I
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Undergoing analysis
Phase II
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Commencing soon
Implications
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Assessment of the psychological impact of the
floods
Increased understanding of how individuals
cope with stressors brought about by floods
Feedback to Councils and service providers
Establish guidelines for the screening and
identification of psychological trauma in the UK
following a natural disaster
Gain a better understanding of the aetiology of
PTSD to enable early detection and prevention
Wellbeing?
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Paradox
Quality of life
Resilience versus vulnerability
Social and psychological factors
Positive psychology
Acknowledgements
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Staff at Wychavon District Council
Staff at Tewkesbury Borough Council
All participating individuals who have been
affected by the floods