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Community perceptions of natural disasters and post‐disaster mental health services
Author(s) -
Shippee Glenn E.,
Bradford Richard,
Gregory W. Larry
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.585
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1520-6629
pISSN - 0090-4392
DOI - 10.1002/1520-6629(198201)10:1<23::aid-jcop2290100104>3.0.co;2-j
Subject(s) - flood myth , natural disaster , mental health , perception , flooding (psychology) , psychology , geography , environmental health , psychiatry , medicine , psychotherapist , archaeology , neuroscience , meteorology
This research was designed to examine the cognitive and affective responses of residential dwellers in the aftermath of a natural disaster (a flood). In a 2 × 3 factorial design, the effects of fear (High, Medium, and Low) and sex on perceptions of the disaster were assessed. The results indicated that respondents who were highly fearful of the disaster were more likely than moderate or low fear respondents to believe that: a) additional flooding would occur in their vicinity, and b) that they resided closer to the flood zone than they actually did. The policy implications of the results suggested that post‐disaster mental health services might have to be extended to include residents of geographical areas not directly affected by natural or man‐made disasters.