Psychiatric reactions to disaster: the Mount St. Helens experience

Am J Psychiatry. 1986 May;143(5):590-5. doi: 10.1176/ajp.143.5.590.

Abstract

Following the 1980 Mount St. Helens volcanic eruption, psychiatric reactions were studied in the disaster area and in a control community. Using the new criterion-based diagnostic method for psychiatric epidemiologic research, the Diagnostic Interview Schedule, the authors found a significant prevalence of disaster-related psychiatric disorders. These Mount St. Helens disorders included depression, generalized anxiety, and posttraumatic stress reaction. There was a progressive "dose-response" relationship in the comparison of control, low-exposure, and high-exposure groups. The dose-response pattern occurred among both the bereaved and the property-loss victims.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Anxiety Disorders / diagnosis
  • Anxiety Disorders / epidemiology
  • Anxiety Disorders / etiology
  • Death
  • Depressive Disorder / diagnosis
  • Depressive Disorder / epidemiology
  • Depressive Disorder / etiology
  • Disasters*
  • Female
  • Grief
  • Health Status
  • Humans
  • Life Change Events
  • Male
  • Mental Disorders / diagnosis*
  • Mental Disorders / epidemiology
  • Mental Disorders / etiology
  • Middle Aged
  • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
  • Psychometrics
  • Sex Factors
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / diagnosis
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / epidemiology
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / etiology
  • Washington