Psychological responses to disasters: Conceptualization and identification of high‐risk survivors

Disasters are often categorized as being `natural' or `technological' in origin. Natural disasters are called `acts of God' and are not seen to be alterable by human actions, while ecological disasters represent a loss of control over technology that could have been avoided. These technological events represent a breach of an implicit social contract that individuals, companies or organizations have to protect human welfare or not to cause harm. Although these differing types of events have not been directly compared, and some events may represent a combination of types, the distinction regarding responsibility may have implications for mental health. A more recently studied type of disaster involving toxic exposure, such as a nuclear radiation leak, has additional characteristics that may have implications for recovery, such as that the initial stressor may be only information. The actual level of exposure may be unknown, and later consequences may be unknown as well. In addition to describing these types of disasters, the present paper presents a conceptual model of individual risk factors for negative outcomes following disaster events. Empirical findings for a number of these risk factors are reviewed, with a focus on the importance of studying interactions among risk factors as they contribute to mental health outcomes. Future research needs include the description and accounting for comorbid disorders, and studying the trauma history of survivors, for whom the disaster is unlikely to be their only traumatic event exposure.