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Maternal marital status predicts self‐reported stress among pregnant women following hurricane Florence
Author(s) -
Howells Michaela E,
Dancause Kelsey,
Pond Richard,
Rivera Latisha,
Simmons Delthea,
Alston Brionna D.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
american journal of human biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.559
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1520-6300
pISSN - 1042-0533
DOI - 10.1002/ajhb.23427
Subject(s) - natural disaster , marital status , distress , social support , disadvantaged , psychology , demography , medicine , environmental health , clinical psychology , social psychology , geography , population , political science , sociology , law , meteorology
Objectives The effects of stress caused by natural disasters may be more pronounced in individuals with preexisting disadvantages. The degree of hardship and psychological distress associated with Hurricane Florence was assessed in 83 pregnant women. This research helps identify unmarried pregnant women as a group particularly at risk of distress following a natural disaster. Methods We assessed hardship associated with the hurricane using a questionnaire modeled on previous studies of stress due to natural disasters. We assessed distress using the Impact of Event Scale‐Revised. We assessed social support and household food security using validated questionnaires. We used hierarchical linear regression to test predictors of distress marital status. Finally, we analyzed interactions between marital status and hardship, social support, and food security to examine whether these variables explained differences in distress among married and unmarried women. Results Results indicated that unmarried women may be at higher risk of distress following natural disasters. Unmarried women were younger, had lower food security and education levels. We found no differences between experiences of hurricane‐related hardship based on marital status. However, unmarried women were likely to have higher levels of distress following the hurricane. Hardship was a significant predictor of distress, but food security and social support were not significant predictors. Conclusions This study identifies unmarried pregnant women as a high risk/vulnerable group that may need additional support during emergencies. Taken together, this study further assesses how socially disadvantaged members of society may be unequally impacted by natural disasters.