Abstract
A household probability sample of 229 adults was interviewed four to seven months after the Sierra Madre earthquake (June 28, 1991; Los Angeles County). The study predicted psychological distress from these variables: demographics, traumatic event history, low magnitude event history, earthquake related threat perceptions, and earthquake related resource loss. Based on the Conservation of Resources (COR) stress model, it was predicted that resource loss would be central in predicting psychological distress. Three major hypotheses were supported: (1) resource loss was positively associated with psychological distress; (2) resource loss predicted psychological distress when other predictors were statistically controlled; and (3) resource loss was associated with mild to moderate elevations in of psychological distress. The findings support COR stress theory. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baum, A. (1987). Toxins, technology, and natural disasters. In VandenBos, G. R., and Bryant, B. K. (eds.),Cataclysms, Crises, and Catastrophes: Psychology in Action, American Psychological Association, Washington, D.C.
California Department of Conservation, Division of Mines and Geology. (1982). Earthquake planning scenario for a magnitude 8.3 earthquake on the San Andreas fault in southern California. Special publication 60: Author.
Cook, J. D., and Bickman, L. (1990). Social support and psychological symptomatology following natural disaster.J. Traum. Stress, 3(4): 541–556.
Derogatis, L. R. (1983).SCL-90-R: Administration, scoring and procedures manual-II (second edition), Clinical Psychometric Research, Baltimore, MD.
Foa, E. B., Steketee, G., and Olasov-Rothbaum, B. (1989). Behavioral/cognitive conceptualizations of post-traumatic stress disorder.Behav. Ther. 20: 155–176.
Freedy, J. R., Jarrell, M. P., Shaw, D. L., and Bene, C. R. (1991, May), Resource loss as a central factor in psychological distress following natural disaster. Poster presented at the 63rd annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, Illinois.
Freedy, J. R., Kilpatrick, D. G., and Resnick, H. S. (1992). Conceptual framework for evaluating disaster impact: Implications for clinical intervention. In Austin, L. S. (ed.),Responding to Disaster: A Guide for Mental Health Professionals, American Psychiatric Press, Inc., Washington, D.C., pp. 3–23.
Freedy, J. R., Shaw, D. L., Jarrell, M. P., and Masters, C. R. (1992). Towards an understanding of the psychological impact of natural disasters: An application of the Conservation of Resources model.J. Traum. Stress 5(3): 441–454.
Gibbs, M. S. (1989). Factors in the victim that mediate between disaster and psychopathology: A review.J. Traum. Stress 2(4): 489–514.
Graham, J. R. (1990).MMPI-2: Assessing Personality and Psychopathology, Oxford University Press, New York.
Green, B. L. (1990). Defining trauma: Terminology and generic stressor dimensions.J. Appl. Social Psychol. 20: 1632–1642.
Hobfoll, S. E. (1989). Conservation of resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress.Am. Psychologist 44(3): 513–524.
Hobfoll, S. E., Lilly, R. S., and Jackson, A. P. (1991). Conservation of social resources and the self. In Veiel, H. O. F., and Baumann, U. (eds.),The Meaning and Measurement of Social Support: Taking Stock of 20 Years of Research, Hemisphere Publishing, Washington, D.C.
Jones, J. C., and Barlow, D. H. (1990). The etiology of posttraumatic stress disorder.Clin. Psychol. Rev. 10: 299–328.
Keeter, S. (1992, May). Estimating telephone noncoverage bias with a telephone survey. Presentation at the annual conference of the American Association for Public Opinion Research, St. Petersburg Beach, Florida.
Krause, N. (1987). Exploring the impact of a natural disaster on the health and well-being of older adults.J. Hum. Stress, Summer, 61–69.
Kohn, R., and Levav, I. (1990). Bereavement in disaster: An overview of the research.Int. J. Ment. Health 19(2): 61–76.
Loftus, E. F., and Marburger, W. (1983). Since the eruption of Mount St. Helens, has anyone beaten you up? Improving the accuracy of retrospective reports with landmark events.Mem. Cogn. 2: 114–120.
Lyons, J. A. (1991). Strategies for assessing the potential for positive adjustment following trauma.J. Traum. Stress 4(1): 93–111.
Maida, C. A., Gordon, N. S., Steinberg, A., and Gordon, G. (1989). Psychosocial impact of disasters: Victims of the Baldwin Hills fire.J. Traum. Stress 2(1): 37–48.
Maslow, A. H. (1968).Toward a Psychology of Being, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York.
McFarlane, A. C. (1988). The longitudinal course of posttraumatic morbidity: The range of outcomes and their predictors.J. Nerv. Ment. Dis. 176(1): 30–39.
Norris, F. H., and Murrell, S. A. (1988). Prior experience as a moderator of disaster impact on anxiety symptoms in older adults.Am. J. Commun. Psychol. 16: 665–683.
North, C. S., Smith, E. M., McCool, R. E., and Lightcap, P. E. (1989). Acute postdisaster coping and adjustment.J. Traum. Stress 2(3): 353–360.
Phifer, J. F., and Norris, F. H. (1989). Psychological symptoms in older adults following natural disaster: Nature, timing, duration and course.J. Gerontol. Social Sci. 44(6): 207–217.
Raphael, B., and Middleton, W. (1987). Mental health responses in a decade of disasters: Australia, 1974–1983.Hosp. Commun. Psychiatry 38(12): 1331–1337.
Rubonis, A. V., and Bickman, L. (1991). Psychological impairment in the wake of disaster: The disaster-psychopathology relationship.Psychological Bull. 109(3): 384–399.
Shore, J. H., Tatum, E., and Vollmer, W. M. (1986). Evaluation of mental health effects of disaster: Mount St. Helen's eruption.Am. J. Publ. Health Suppl. 76: 76–83.
Shore, J. H., Tatum, E. L., and Vollmer, W. M. (1986). Psychiatric reactions to disaster: The Mount St. Helens Experience.Am. J. Psychiatry 143(5): 590–595.
Smith, E. M., Robins, L. N., Przybeck, T. R., Goldring, E., and Solomon, S. D. (1986). Psychosocial consequences of a disaster. In Shore, J. H. (ed.),Disaster Stress Studies: New Methods and Findings, American Psychiatric Press, Inc., Washington, D.C., pp. 50–76.
Solomon, S. D. (1989). Research issues in assessing disaster's effects. In Gist, R., and Lubin, B. (eds.),Psychosocial Aspects of Disaster, Wiley, New York, pp. 308–340.
Solomon, S. D., and Canino, G. J. (1990). Appropriateness of DSM-III-R criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder.Comp. Psychiatry 31(3): 227–237.
Steinglass, P., and Gerrity, E. (1990). Natural disasters and post-traumatic stress disorder: Short-term versus long-term recovery in two disaster-affected communities.J. Appl. Social Psychol. 20: 1746–1765.
Summers, G. M., and Cowan, M. L. (1991). Mental health issues related to the development of a national disaster response system.Milit. Med. 156(1): 30–32.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
About this article
Cite this article
Freedy, J.R., Saladin, M.E., Kilpatrick, D.G. et al. Understanding acute psychological distress following natural disaster. J Trauma Stress 7, 257–273 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02102947
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02102947