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Psychological Resilience after Hurricane Sandy: The Influence of Individual- and Community-Level Factors on Mental Health after a Large-Scale Natural Disaster

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  • Sarah R Lowe
  • Laura Sampson
  • Oliver Gruebner
  • Sandro Galea

Abstract

Several individual-level factors are known to promote psychological resilience in the aftermath of disasters. Far less is known about the role of community-level factors in shaping postdisaster mental health. The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of both individual- and community-level factors on resilience after Hurricane Sandy. A representative sample of household residents (N = 418) from 293 New York City census tracts that were most heavily affected by the storm completed telephone interviews approximately 13–16 months postdisaster. Multilevel multivariable models explored the independent and interactive contributions of individual- and community-level factors to posttraumatic stress and depression symptoms. At the individual-level, having experienced or witnessed any lifetime traumatic event was significantly associated with higher depression and posttraumatic stress, whereas demographic characteristics (e.g., older age, non-Hispanic Black race) and more disaster-related stressors were significantly associated with higher posttraumatic stress only. At the community-level, living in an area with higher social capital was significantly associated with higher posttraumatic stress. Additionally, higher community economic development was associated with lower risk of depression only among participants who did not experience any disaster-related stressors. These results provide evidence that individual- and community-level resources and exposure operate in tandem to shape postdisaster resilience.

Suggested Citation

  • Sarah R Lowe & Laura Sampson & Oliver Gruebner & Sandro Galea, 2015. "Psychological Resilience after Hurricane Sandy: The Influence of Individual- and Community-Level Factors on Mental Health after a Large-Scale Natural Disaster," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(5), pages 1-15, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0125761
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0125761
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    2. Rebecca M. Schwartz & Christina N. Gillezeau & Bian Liu & Wil Lieberman-Cribbin & Emanuela Taioli, 2017. "Longitudinal Impact of Hurricane Sandy Exposure on Mental Health Symptoms," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-12, August.
    3. Gemma Sou, 2019. "Sustainable resilience? Disaster recovery and the marginalization of sociocultural needs and concerns," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 19(2), pages 144-159, April.
    4. Gallagher, H. Colin & Block, Karen & Gibbs, Lisa & Forbes, David & Lusher, Dean & Molyneaux, Robyn & Richardson, John & Pattison, Philippa & MacDougall, Colin & Bryant, Richard A., 2019. "The effect of group involvement on post-disaster mental health: A longitudinal multilevel analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 167-175.
    5. Emanuela Resta & Giancarlo Logroscino & Silvio Tafuri & Peter Preethymol & Chiara Noviello & Alberto Costantiello & Angelo Leogrande, 2024. "The Mental Health Index across the Italian Regions in the ESG Context," Working Papers hal-04612739, HAL.
    6. Resta, Emanuela & Logroscino, Giancarlo & Tafuri, Silvio & Peter, Preethymol & Noviello, Chiara & Costantiello, Alberto & Leogrande, Angelo, 2024. "The Mental Health Index across the Italian Regions in the ESG Context," SocArXiv 3cztm_v1, Center for Open Science.
    7. Ahmadiani, Mona & Ferreira, Susana, 2021. "Well-being effects of extreme weather events in the United States," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    8. Kevin M. Fitzpatrick & Don E. Willis & Matthew L. Spialek & Emily English, 2020. "Food Insecurity in the Post-Hurricane Harvey Setting: Risks and Resources in the Midst of Uncertainty," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(22), pages 1-16, November.
    9. Pruchno, Rachel & Wilson-Genderson, Maureen & Heid, Allison R. & Cartwright, Francine P., 2021. "Effects of peri-traumatic stress experienced during Hurricane Sandy on functional limitation trajectories for older men and women," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).
    10. Sonja I. Garske & Suzanne Elayan & Martin Sykora & Tamar Edry & Linus B. Grabenhenrich & Sandro Galea & Sarah R. Lowe & Oliver Gruebner, 2021. "Space-Time Dependence of Emotions on Twitter after a Natural Disaster," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(10), pages 1-13, May.
    11. Fitzpatrick, Kevin M., 2021. "Post-traumatic stress symptomatology and displacement among Hurricane Harvey survivors," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 270(C).
    12. Wilson-Genderson, Maureen & Heid, Allison R. & Pruchno, Rachel, 2018. "Long-term effects of disaster on depressive symptoms: Type of exposure matters," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 217(C), pages 84-91.

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