\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cWe\u2019ve collected three waves of data, so far, with the first wave occurring in 2012-2014, the second in 2014 to 2016, and the third just recently ended,\u201d first study author Ariane Rung told us. \u201cThis particular analysis focused on the mental health of children at Wave 2. We wanted to see whether children\u2019s mental health was affected by their mothers\u2019 exposure to the oil spill, and if so, how.\u201d<\/p>\n
The research team theorized that the Conservation of Resources model of stress and adaptation would be in play. This theory suggests that disasters, like the oil spill, often threaten or deplete the resources of impacted individuals, and that this loss can lead to stress and negative mental health outcomes. The research team hypothesized that mothers lost resources as a result of the oil spill, and that this led negative mental health outcomes in their children.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe chose this topic because one of our earliest analyses of the WaTCH data found negative mental health associations among women exposed to the oil spill,\u201d Rung told us. \u201cThere had been even fewer studies of oil spill impact on children, so we wanted to explore whether children\u2019s mental health was also impacted.\u201d<\/p>\n
The research team used data from their interviews of mothers and their children in the seven Louisiana parishes at Waves 1 and 2 of the WaTCH Study. The children were between ages 10 and 17 at Wave 1. They assessed maternal exposure to the oil spill by asking mothers questions about, for example, whether the oil spill had caused damage to areas where they fished commercially, whether it had affected the recreational activities of the household, or whether their household had lost income due to employment disruption caused by the oil spill.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n“We assessed children\u2019s mental health though a set of 25 questions from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, that give an overall indication of behavioral and emotional challenges that children are experiencing,\u201d Rung told us. \u201cFinally, we measured resource loss by asking a set of questions from the Conservation of Resources-Evaluation instrument that asks about a broad range of resources related to coping options and psychological well-being that may be impacted by a disaster.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThese resources separated into two groups that the researchers called mothers\u2019 financial resource loss and mothers\u2019 social resource loss. Financial resource loss included questions about things like \u201cmoney for extras\u201d or \u201chaving adequate food.\u201d Social resource loss included questions about things like \u201ccloseness with family members\u201d or \u201ccompanionship.\u201d The research team put all the data into a structural equation model that allowed them to statistically test for whether maternal resource loss mediates the effect of maternal oil spill exposure on children\u2019s mental health.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe found that the relationship between maternal oil spill exposure at Wave 1 and children\u2019s mental health at Wave 2 was not statistically significant, which means that maternal oil spill exposure was not directly related to children\u2019s mental health,\u201d Rung told us. \u201cHowever, maternal oil spill exposure was significantly related to increased maternal resource loss at Wave 2, and this loss was related to worse children\u2019s mental\u00a0health at Wave 2.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThis suggests that resource loss was indeed mediating the effect of maternal exposure on children\u2019s mental health. In other words, maternal exposure was indirectly affecting children\u2019s mental health due to the oil spill\u2019s impact on maternal resource loss.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t say I was very surprised,\u201d Rung told us. \u201cIt feels almost intuitive that if mom is suffering somehow from a disaster, particular financially and socially, the children are also likely to suffer. The results of this study suggest that is indeed what is happening. While it\u2019s important to be able to say that disaster exposure leads to negative consequences in children, it\u2019s also important to be able to suggest why. In this case, it was directly through these losses of resources.\u201d<\/p>\n
Going forward, Rung explained that the results suggest the needs of survivors of disasters need to be anticipated, specifically the children of adults who were negatively impacted, both pre- and post- disaster. Interventions could be considered to mitigate these effects by focusing on financial needs, particularly for families of lower socioeconomic status, who might benefit from increased financial support.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cIt\u2019s also important not to neglect families\u2019 social needs and strengthening community ties,\u201d Rung told us. \u201cIt\u2019s critical to understand that by tending to parents\u2019 needs, we can also be mitigating impacts on children\u2019s mental health.\u201d<\/p>\n
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