Association between long-term stressors and mental health distress following the 2013 Moore tornado: a pilot study
| Date | 17 June 2019 |
| Published date | 17 June 2019 |
| Pages | 124-134 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JPMH-07-2018-0038 |
| Author | Lauren A. Clay,Alex Greer |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Mental health,Public mental health |
Association between long-term stressors
and mental health distress following the
2013 Moore tornado: a pilot study
Lauren A. Clay and Alex Greer
Abstract
Purpose –Stress has considerable impacts on human health, potentially leading to issues such as fatigue,
anxiety and depression. Resource loss, a common outcome of disasters, has been found to contribute to
stress among disaster survivors. Prior research focuses heavily on clinical mental health impacts of disaster
experience, with less research on the effect of cumulative stress during long-term recovery. To address this
gap, the purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of stressors including resource loss and debt on
mental health in a sample of households in Moore, Oklahoma, impacted by a tornado in 2013.
Design/methodology/approach –For this pilot study, questionnaires were mailed to households residing
along the track of the May2013 tornado in Moore, OK. Descriptive statisticswere calculated to report sample
characteristicsand disaster experience. Independent associationsbetween disaster losses and demographic
characteristics with the outcome mental health were examined with χ
2
and unadjusted logistic regression
analysis. Adjustedlogistic regression models were fit to examine resource loss and mentalhealth.
Findings –Findings suggest that th e tornado had considerable impacts on responde nts: 56.24 percent
(n ¼36) reported that their homes were destroyed or sustained major damage. Greater resource loss
and debt were associat ed with mental health di stress during long-te rm recovery from the Mo ore,
OK, 2013 tornadoes.
Research limitations/implications –The association between resource loss and mental health point to a
need for interventions to mitigate losses such as bolstering social support networks, incentivizing mitigation
and reducing financial constraints on households post-disaster.
Originality/value –This study contributes to a better understanding of long-term, accumulated stress
post-disaster and the impact on health to a literature heavily focused on clinical outcomes.
Keywords Mental health, Disaster recovery, Stress, Conservation of resources, Stressors, Resource loss
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
On May 20th, 2013, the city of Moore was impacted by an EF5 tornado, killing 24 individuals,
including ten children, and injuring 377 others. After the event, a number of organizations offered
mental health services to affected residents, with the state of Oklahoma taking a major role in the
provision of mental health services through the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and
Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS). ODMHSAS mounted a community wide effort to
address mental health needs, training 680 clinicians in Psychological First Aid, deploying staff to
assist first responders, and running a field services office through June 2015 to provide services
(ODMHSAS, 2016).
Previous research on disasters has found that disaster recovery presents a number of potential
stressors for survivors (Richardson et al., 2014; Suzuki et al., 2014; Van der Velden et al., 2014;
Sampson et al., 2016). These stressors may come in the form of property damage or the loss of a
home, transportation, job or social support systems, increased responsibilities and role
confusion, injuries or loss of family members or friends, and displacement from home
Received 9 July 2018
Revised 21 December 2018
15 February 2019
Accepted 26 February 2019
Lauren A. Clay is based at the
Health Services Administration,
D’Youville College,
Buffalo, New York, USA and
Disaster Research Center,
University of Delaware,
Newark, Delaware, USA.
Alex Greer is based at the
College of Emergency
Preparedness, Homeland
Security, and Cybersecurity,
University at Albany State
University of New York, Albany,
New York, USA.
PAGE124
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JOURNAL OF PUBLIC MENTAL HEALTH
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VOL. 18 NO. 2 2019, pp. 124-134, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1746-5729 DOI 10.1108/JPMH-07-2018-0038
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