Definitions and Concepts in Disaster Research.

This chapter outlines some of the definitions and concepts that lie behind understanding the impact of disasters on the health and welfare of the affected communities. We first define varied meanings of the term disaster and the (fuzzy) boundaries of research that aims to understand the mental health consequences of these events. We then describe the traditional typology that has guided this field of study, noting distinctions among natural disasters, technological accidents, and sudden episodes of mass violence. Next, we describe other important characteristics of disasters and disaster exposure and conclude by elaborating on the temporal dimension of disaster impact and recovery. Chapter 2 (Norris & Elrod) then delves into the effects of disasters drawn from the research to date.

[1]  G C Gleser,et al.  Identifying survivors at risk: long-term impairment following the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire. , 1985, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[2]  B. Dick,et al.  The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies , 1992, Tropical doctor.

[3]  A. Marsella,et al.  Ethnocultural aspects of posttraumatic stress disorder : issues, research, and clinical applications , 1996 .

[4]  W Kinston,et al.  Disaster: effects on mental and physical state. , 1974, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[5]  Sandro Galea,et al.  Stigmatization of newly emerging infectious diseases: AIDS and SARS. , 2006, American journal of public health.

[6]  J. Herman,et al.  Dissociation, somatization, and affect dysregulation: the complexity of adaptation of trauma. , 1996, The American journal of psychiatry.

[7]  Bonnie L. Green,et al.  Cross-national and ethnocultural issues in disaster research. , 1996 .

[8]  D. Myers,et al.  Disaster Mental Health Services: A Primer for Practitioners , 2004 .

[9]  A C McFarlane,et al.  Post-traumatic stress disorder: findings from the Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Well-being , 2001, Psychological Medicine.

[10]  Philippa Pattison,et al.  Posttrauma Reactions Following a Multiple Shooting A Retrospective Study and Methodological Inquiry , 1993 .

[11]  Robert J Ursano,et al.  Acute stress disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, and depression in disaster or rescue workers. , 2004, The American journal of psychiatry.

[12]  F H Norris,et al.  Psychological symptoms in older adults following natural disaster: nature, timing, duration, and course. , 1989, Journal of gerontology.

[13]  N Brooks,et al.  Post-traumatic morbidity in a civilian community of litigants: A follow-up at 3 years , 1995, Journal of traumatic stress.

[14]  S Eth,et al.  Life threat and posttraumatic stress in school-age children. , 1987, Archives of general psychiatry.

[15]  Fran H. Norris,et al.  Natural and Technological Disasters , 2004 .

[16]  Elizabeth M. Smith,et al.  Psychiatric disorders among survivors of the Oklahoma City bombing. , 1999, JAMA.

[17]  A. Baum,et al.  Similarity of prior trauma exposure as a determinant of chronic stress responding to an airline disaster. , 2000, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[18]  R. Kessler,et al.  Posttraumatic stress disorder in the National Comorbidity Survey. , 1995, Archives of general psychiatry.

[19]  J E Schwartz,et al.  Children's well-being 11 years after the Chornobyl catastrophe. , 2000, Archives of general psychiatry.

[20]  Steven Farmer,et al.  Responses to traumatic stress among community residents exposed to a train collision , 2000 .

[21]  Enrico L Quarantelli,et al.  What Is Disaster? The Need For Clarification In Definition And Conceptualization In Research , 1985 .

[22]  Terri Gullickson,et al.  International Handbook of Traumatic Stress Syndromes. , 1995 .

[23]  F. Norris,et al.  60,000 Disaster Victims Speak: Part I. An Empirical Review of the Empirical Literature, 1981—2001 , 2002, Psychiatry.

[24]  Alexander C. McFarlane,et al.  The epidemiology of PTSD: A comprehensive review of the international literature , 1996 .

[25]  L Bickman,et al.  Psychological impairment in the wake of disaster: the disaster-psychopathology relationship. , 1991, Psychological bulletin.

[26]  D Bolton,et al.  The long-term psychological effects of a disaster experienced in adolescence: I: The incidence and course of PTSD. , 2000, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.