Psychological Effects of Natural Disasters

Psychological Effects of Natural Disasters

This research paper aims at finding out if there are any psychological effects that victims of disasters face after the disaster. Additionally, it will look into the steps that should be taken to deal with such cases that may exist and will conclude by assessing the implications of such effects to the individuals and the community at large. In a bid to obtain such information, a lot of literature will be studied and reviewed and all that will be presented will be pegged on facts and data that have been presented by different researchers.

The term disaster is a Latin derivative involving the terms dis and astrum, which mean against and stars respectively, thus "the stars are evil" (Farber 1967). The definition of disaster can be in terms of a physical driving force and its consequences (Dynes 1974) and viewed as a life threatening situation, abrupt destruction, injury, and loss of property and life. A number of these conceptualizations of disaster lay emphasis on the component of social disturbance that frequently come hand in hand with such situations.

In history, the origin of research purposed for psychologically focused disaster can be traced to psychoanalytic studies which were carried out in response to the severe stress during and subsequent to the Second World War which mainly affected the soldiers and survivors in the concentration camps. From that time on this field has experienced significant expansion with similar researches being done on almost all disasters that take place. The findings from all these researches have indicated that there are significant psychological effects that individuals suffer in relation to the disasters that they experience or those close to them go through. There are a number of difficulties that limit the ability to generalize about psychological effects of disaster; these comprise issues such the differences in the methodologies used, instruments, time frames, definition of populations, and samples. There has been a lot of improvement in the research into the effects of disaster over the past years even though differences in methodologies and conceptualizations still exist.

There are a number of factors that have led to this situation, first and foremost are that a number of clinicians and behavioral scientists have carried out studies concerning disasters and have come up with concepts regarding potential effects of disaster in many varied ways, most of which are not psycho-pathologically associated. Primary investigators of disaster effects, such as community and social psychologists and sociologists, have not expected or evaluated critical forms of mental disorders as aftermath of these events. Somewhat, common indications of psychological distress and mild "problems of living" have been examined. Conversely, clinicians have had the tendency of seeing the worst and have been the ones describing the nature and quality of more serious reactions to catastrophic events.

The purpose of this report is to address the assessment of the effects of disasters and the possible solutions to such problems, the specific focus is on the psychological effects on the people who face these disasters and how the individuals can be assisted to come out of the situation and to cope with the situations that they face. The study will focus on various groups of people having different positions in the family such as the parents and the children.

Background

Most of the previous researches have concentrated on studying the psychological effects of disaster on the minority groups, the memory of children, and on the parents. This paper will look into the last two categories since they are the most crucial and studying them will cover the whole population. This will cover the different reactions that they have for disasters and the possible remedies to the problems that they undergo after a disaster.

Effects on children

A child reacts to disaster depending on the amount of destruction and loss that he/she has witnessed as a result of the disaster. If the disaster causes loss or serious injury of a family member, a friend or a teacher, or if such facilities as school, home, or neighborhood that are relevant to the child are destroyed, then there are high chances that the child will experience difficulty in adjusting. Another determining factor is also the age of the child which will influence the response to disaster. For instance, a 5-year-old may indicate his/her agonies by reverting to behaviors that had been outgrown, while adolescents may defend themselves emotionally by creating a distance between themselves and their parents, friends, and family (American Academy of Child and Adolescents Psychiatry 2005). The most general reactions to disaster observed in children closely reflect those exhibited in other circumstances where separation and stress are principal concerns. Assisting children during these intensely hard situations requires attentiveness to an enormous array of psychosocial responses that children might display.

There is a tendency among infants of showing signs of anxiety mostly reflective of the parents or adults who take care of them. When caretakers and parents get stressed due to disaster, infants are likely to get affected, which may include exhibiting variations in sleep, levels of responsiveness, and eating patterns. These effects may also include incidences of irritability, and amplified surprise response, or indifference (Murray 2002). In some instances, infants show signs of weakening and even detachment, especially if the disaster resulted into separation of the child and the primary caretaker as it may be in a case of evacuation or loss of parent. The effect that toddlers face in such disasters will be more than that of infants, particularly if it led to separation from the primary caretaker, this being too common in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Toddlers will tend to be depressed and withdrawn, going in search of adults to get attention and comfort at a level higher than was required previously. Similar to infants, toddlers may also indicate changes in sleeping and eating habits (Murray 2002). Reactions that draw particular attention within this age group are signs like persistent nightmares, sleep terrors, clinging behavior, and increased temper paroxysms.

The response of a child of preschool age may include regress and exhibiting severe vulnerability, lack of awareness of their physical surrounding, meekness, and at time guilt and fear. The kinds of fears that are persistent are such as those of being permanently separated from parents as well as a feeling of guilt that they have a hand in the disaster. This age group will usually also show a larger number of usually self-limited somatic grumbles such as headaches, stomachaches, and dizziness (American Academy of Child and Adolescents Psychiatry 2005). School age children are in a better position to understand the nature of events taking place during a disaster. Nevertheless, in spite of their greater cognitive and emotional development, they are still fairly susceptible to stress reactions. The fear of children in this age group is that for their own safety as well as for that of the members of their family. This leads to complications while sleeping with their sleep characterized by screaming and nightmares which eventually affects school performance and variations in moods. It is also possible that they express gloom, listlessness, reduced activity, and obsession with the events of the disaster (American Academy of Child and Adolescents Psychiatry 2005).

The understanding of adolescents is better and at a level closer to that of adults, though they are predominantly vulnerable group due to the fact that they are undergoing a period of intricate changes. Teens may involve in behaviors that are risky as a mechanism of dealing with inconceivable stress. Even though they may show reactions such as delinquency, acting out, resentment and poor school performance, it is possible to observe constructive behaviors such as taking over additional responsibilities, contributing to the process of recovery, and giving support to other victims (Plum 2003).

Maureen, et al. (1993) wrote a report on a research that had been carried out in Bangladesh which aimed at examining children both before and after a flood disaster to determine if stressful events play a part in behavioral disorders development in children. In carrying out the research, structured measures of selected behavioral hitches were made six months before the disaster. This was an epidemiological study of disability in children between the ages of 2 to 9 years. A representative sample of 162 surviving children was re-evaluated five months after the flood disaster. The findings in this research was that there was an increase in prevalence of aggressive behavior which on assessment was found to rise from zero percent to about ten percent. It was also discovered that about thirty four percent of children who had bladder control prior to the flood developed enuresis. These may be indications of posttraumatic distress in childhood which points out to the importance of the need to develop and evaluate involvements aimed at improving the psychological and behavioral consequences of the exposure of children to severe and traumatic conditions.

There have been studies carried out to find the long-term effects of distressing experiences on children and most have revealed that children may continue to exhibit psychological symptoms long after the distress. This is mostly experienced in case where the trauma caused psychological disorders, phobias, and depression, and this may go as far as inhibiting the maturation process of the child and even interacting with the emerging personality. According to Newman (1976) three factors can be used to predict the psychological effects of disasters on children, these are; the child's developmental level, the child's perception about the family's response to the disaster, and the child's level of exposure to the traumatic experience. A number of studies on a child's reaction to disaster in relation to family's response have mainly concentrated on their mothers. A report by McFarlane (1987) indicated that post-traumatic symptoms in children who had been exposed to the Australian bushfires had a close relation to the anxiety of the mothers than to the exposure level. The family's reaction to and integration after the stressful experience is therefore one of the best predictors of the child's reaction than the level of exposure, thus it is almost accurate to conclude that persistent stress reactions in children have a relation to mothers' symptomatology on the one hand, and the integration level of the family and the personality of the child on the other.

Effects on adults

There are researchers who have had particular interest on the psychological effects of disasters on adults thus a number of studies have been carried out to find out the facts about this. It has to be noted that there is not much difference on the effects that disasters have on children and adults, the variation mostly comes in the extent to which such reactions take place. In a study carried out by Parker et al. (2006) assessing adult memory for Hurricane Andrew came up with a number of results consistent with these facts. In the assessment, the adult memory was evaluated as a function of stress and results compared to a previous study which dealt with the memory of children for the same event carried out by Bahrick et al. (1998). The study assessed the recall of a natural disaster, an intricate event that was comprehensive in time.

The parallel study of children's recall which was carried out at the same time with the study showed that the recall of Hurricane Andrew by preschoolers had a U-shaped curve, with the highest recall recorded at moderate levels of stress (Bahrick et al. 1998). It was therefore of interest to find out whether their mothers exhibited a comparable quadratic function that relates stress and recall. Memory of different parts of the event was also examined, such as the hurricane preparations, the hurricane itself, and its consequences, centrality of content, and memory test type, i.e. free recall against prompted, as a function of the experienced stress and these results were compared to that obtained from the children.

The findings showed that the overall recall of mothers of the hurricane revealed a quadratic relation with stress. There was an increase in recall from low to moderate levels of storm severity and then remained steady from moderate to high storm severity. This observation remained the same even after adjustment of recall for the covariates of retention and rehearsal interval. Likewise, their children's recall indicated a quadratic relation with stress and exhibited a major rise from low to moderate levels of storm severity. Conversely, the children exhibited a major drop from moderate to high levels of storm severity. Mothers also demonstrated quadratic patterns in relation to stress and recall for varied parts of the event. Though, memories of the preparation stage of the hurricane remained even and displayed no difference as a function of stress. In the preparation phase, mothers of all stress levels would have gone through the event as equally stressful given that it was not known that the storm would bring any serious disaster. The evaluation of the quadratic relation between recall and stress and the failure to observe a major drop in recall from moderate to high storm severity were done in context of natural differences in the extent and quantity of recallable material for individuals who experienced moderated against high storm severity.

For those individuals who experienced high storm severity tolerated a hurricane consequence that was extensively longer and had a considerably greater number of days without essential services such as phone service, electricity among others. Additionally, it had an extended storm with more events related to hurricane during the storm. There was also more evidence of rehearsal at the high level of storm severity. These likely confounds would result to one expecting the memory for individuals who went through high storm severity to be greater than for those who experienced low or moderate storm severity, given the larger amount of possibly recallable material in both the hurricane and the resulting periods.

Nevertheless, neither this greater amount of potential information nor the greater amount of rehearsal at high levels of stress translated into increased recall for the mothers in the high storm severity situation. To a certain extent, these factors may have recompensed for what would otherwise be a reduction in recall at the high stress level. This indicates that mothers, similar to their children, may face some impairment in recall due to high stress. It appears that for mothers, their recall of emotional content faced more impairment from high stress than from any other content. It has however not been determined whether high stress really caused memory impairment or unwillingness to report memories. Largely, there are clear parallels between the recall patterns exhibited by adults and children. Data for both groups showed greater recall of peripheral than central information, prompted than spontaneous information, descriptions than internal states, and actions than descriptions. It has to be noted however that as much as the recall of adults and children were parallel, adults recall a great deal more information about the disaster than children.

Generally, it has been found that going through severe trauma and the resulting stress and desolation can generate a number of various reactions psychologically in adults, these may range from brief, stressful adjustments to serious mental health worries. Various researchers have reported that most individuals experiencing trauma from disasters will be understandably stressed but pliant (Acierno, et al., (2002). Despite that, there have been observations of increase in the prevalence of mental health issues following disasters with a concomitant reduction in the access to and the use of mental health and medical services which is a little troubling. In addition, displacement and evacuation also tend to be related with poorer outcomes for adults, over and above having concomitant financial, residential, transportation, and social support difficulties. Some adults have also indicated long-standing mental health difficulties following a disaster.

Possible resolutions

Whenever pediatric healthcare professionals are responding to disasters, it is important to remember that in spite of the pandemonium, a lot of the stress reactions of children and families exhibited are usual reactions to an incredibly unusual circumstance. Dealing with psychosocial outcomes resulting from disaster needs a very solicitous and all-inclusive plan of care to reduce the adverse impact of disaster on victims from a cognitive, emotional, and behavioral perspective. This is mainly true for children in a case where they were separated from their families as a result of a disaster. There should familiarity among the nurses and healthcare professionals acting in response to disasters with regard to special needs of children in such adverse situations, which should include the essential assessment strategies and involvements based on developmental level, age, and cognitive development (Plum & Veenema 2003). Pediatric healthcare professionals should aggressively hunt for children and families who have experienced disasters to make them aware of available services. The foremost effect of a disaster on children is the disturbance of their lives through loss and injury, or destruction of relevant structures such as schools, home and the neighborhood. This results to a loss of consistency, predictability, and structure which distresses children of all ages and developmental levels.

There are particular interventions that can be employed by pediatric healthcare professionals in helping children of all ages. The most important factor is the availability of parents who are necessary in providing emotional support required to take care of the children. In order to help parents marshal resources needed to give the necessary care, educational support should be provided which includes teaching parents and other caretakers about general behaviors that might be exhibited by children and adolescents. In case where mental support is required, such individuals should be referred to qualified mental health clinical nurse specialists, psychologists, nurse practitioners, or child-life experts. There are certain organizations that offer such assistance an example being the American Red Cross that will provide such services when set out to assist in disaster stricken areas. With the help of an experienced mental health professional, children and parents can understand and cope with feelings, thoughts, and habits that come due to such misfortune by offering constructive means of handling the inconceivable emotional impact. Families and healthcare professionals should ensure that adults spend much time with children, giving them a chance to be more dependent on adults for as long as is necessary in the aftermath of the disaster.

The other important groups during such periods are social support networks (Murray 200). These networks which comprise of friends, family, healthcare professionals, members of the clergy, and volunteers during the rescue process can have a lot of influence in intervening in the aftermath of a disaster (Plum & Veenema 2003). The most important intervention for infants is the provision of basic needs and making sure that familiar caretakers are available for the child. Ensuring that the needs of the parents are dealt with will also make certain that a parent is available for the infant and can provide emotional and physical care appropriately. Toddlers highly value re-establishing and maintaining a humdrum schedule for activities, for instance playing, sleeping, and eating. All these interventions can e of assistance in restoring a sense of safekeeping and normalcy. In the event, particularly when the child shows problems with sleeping, parents should be in a position to accommodate them while at the same time trying to establish a schedule as much as possible. Making use of materials such as night lights, favorite stuffed animals are encouraged, additionally, relaxing and comfort intercessions such as storytelling, singing, or music can be helpful.

Making sure that parents are available for preschoolers is very necessary in alleviating gratuitous fears of separation. Younger children have no understanding of what has taken place and will neither understand the consequences therefore it is required that they receive ample reassurances of being safe and protection. Encouraging regression on behaviors that had been outgrown on a temporarily will aid with coping. In order to minimize stress, non-verbal activities can be engaged and the provision of means of sharing thoughts is also vital. For the school-age children, it is critical to offer them reassurance and opportunities to express their emotions and feelings, this is because their stage of development is cognitive they may have a feeling that in some way they have a hand in the disaster and the upcoming challenges that are faced by the family. Since it is common for many children to shun from talking about what happened, using expressive therapy such as drawing, play, puppets etc. may be of help in facilitating their expression of feelings. Another precious step to take is that of looking for a child within the same age bracket with whom the child can be free to share his or her concerns, anger, and fears. For cases where the children are residing in a shelter, groups of children may gather to share their feelings and this will help them understand disaster and get to know that they are not alone thus enabling them to better cope with the consequences of the disaster. It is also important to give adolescents opportunities to share their stories with fellow teens or with adults. It is of much significance to keep all ways of communication available and accessible.

Summarily, it can be mentioned that it is crucial for psychiatrists, psychologists, and mental health professionals to apply various effective treatments to victims of disaster-related disorders. Administering treatments such as therapy for an individual, group, family or couples can be of great assistance. Psychiatric medication can also bring relief for the depression symptoms, sleep disturbances, and anxiety thus it is significant that a psychologist or other mental health professional evaluates unrelenting symptoms and come up with a comprehensive program for the treatment. As a friend, coworker, or a family member should be an active listener and supportive to victims of disaster disorders. One should learn to listen non-judgmentally and patiently as the victims narrate their story and offer advises that discourage damaging ways of coping with stress such as excessive use of drugs and alcohol.

Implications

In the present day, a lot of disasters are reported almost every other day all over the world which means that more and more people are faced with disaster everyday, the latest serious case being the Haiti earthquake. It is evident from the above findings that disaster has very serious psychological effects on the victims and that trauma attacks the lives of nations, communities and individuals today more frequently and by measures that are extremely destructive and terrifying than in the past, not just for children, but for adults as well and the entire community. There is a feeling of deep fear and anxiety among children of all ages and adults which comes after a major trauma or psychological disorder. In the current society, no one can claim to be truly "safe" since trauma has transmuted into a more invasive, powerful, and destructive strain than was experienced in the past. One simply needs a glowing memory of media images of Oklahoma City, September 11th, or Columbine High School to be reminded of the catastrophic impact trauma brings to children, adults, and the community (Pfefferbaum 1999). The questions that are always asked relate to the need of individuals after experiencing major trauma and how counselors can be of help in handling such needs.

The initial impact of trauma generates four messages to a trauma survivor and the community. It notifies the survivor that the world is no longer secure, kind, conventional, and trustworthy. Each of these features has been cart off, or at the very least has been infringed and/or destroyed during the traumatic experience. Trauma, considering its basic description, is dangerous, destructive, and unpredictable. The loss of these four components or element is more devastating in children than in adults. Psychological disorders practically rob children of a right to innocence that belongs to all children. This innocence is impulsively taken away against the will of the child and will never be regained thus the child's "world" is never ever the same. The counselor can commence handling these pressing needs of a trauma survivor by developing a "counseling environment" of safety, predictability, kindness, and trustworthiness. To some extent, a fresh therapeutic "world" is shaped that once more has, to some extent, features of the victim's world preceding the destructive trauma. Significant in shaping this counseling environment is the representation of these features by the therapist. With these features missing, the effectiveness of the counseling relationship will not be achieved, each is vital for success.

On top of these dominant messages, trauma also generates three undesirable effects into the survivor's life. The first undesirable effect is that of silence which initially develops from the shock experienced by the trauma survivor. Though, once the preliminary shock of the trauma has started to diminish, the trauma survivor has a belief that there are truly no words that can convincingly illustrate the trauma experienced. The second undesirable element that is generated in the life of a trauma survivor is the sense of isolation, most commonly emotional isolation and at times even physical isolation. The survivor may also have to practice living alone in a case where a loved one who shared the survivor's life has been lost. The survivor has a deep belief that no one could have the understanding of the depth of the disaster that was experienced and survived. The last undesirable effect experienced by a survivor is the sense of helplessness with a feeling that nothing could be done to avert or end the trauma.

The outcome of all these is that the community will face a big task of trying to reconstruct its image both structurally and in terms of manpower. Many individuals within the community will have a reduced production capacity while others may totally lose their production capabilities. This will translate to the overall reduction in the production capacity of the community and the nation at large. Given that victims of such disasters cannot be ignored without offering any help to them, it will mean that a nation has to spend heavily in trying to recreate the destroyed regions and bring up the morale of the individuals. This will be a burdening task given that the disasters also lead to a reduction in the production capacity of the nations which means low income for the government. It is noted that the definitive economic implication of a disaster depends on the disposition of assets that have been damaged. Some of these assets are never replaced thus their loss leads to a reduction in consumption and a subsequent decrease in the quality of life or a reduction in investment and, thus, a drop off in economic productivity. Other assets are substituted either by in-kind donations such as food and clothing or viable purchases. In the second instance, the cost of substitution must come from some source of recovery funding, which commonly can be characterized as either inter-temporal transfers to the present time from past savings or potential loan payments or interpersonal transfers from one group to another at a specified time. Some of the specific methods for financing recovery include obtaining tax deductions or deferrals, insurance payoffs, unemployment benefits, loans - paying back the principal at low or even no interest grants with no return of principal, or additional employment. All these financial undertakings usually affect the victims greatly since it is a deviation from their normal and planned life, thus, it takes a very long time for them to recover.