Maternal marital status predicts self-reported stress among pregnant women following hurricane Florence
| Autor: | Delthea Simmons, Latisha Rivera, Kelsey N. Dancause, Michaela E. Howells, Richard S. Pond, Brionna D. Alston |
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| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: |
Adult
Mothers 030209 endocrinology & metabolism 03 medical and health sciences Social support Young Adult 0302 clinical medicine Genetics North Carolina Humans 0601 history and archaeology Natural disaster Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics 060101 anthropology Food security Marital Status Cyclonic Storms Psychological distress 06 humanities and the arts Disadvantaged Distress Anthropology Marital status Female Pregnant Women Self Report Anatomy Psychology Stress Psychological Demography |
| Zdroj: | American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology CouncilREFERENCES. 32(4) |
| ISSN: | 1520-6300 |
| Popis: | Objectives The effects of stress caused by natural disasters may be more pronounced in individuals with preexisting disadvantages. The degree of hardship and psychological distress associated with Hurricane Florence was assessed in 83 pregnant women. This research helps identify unmarried pregnant women as a group particularly at risk of distress following a natural disaster. Methods We assessed hardship associated with the hurricane using a questionnaire modeled on previous studies of stress due to natural disasters. We assessed distress using the Impact of Event Scale-Revised. We assessed social support and household food security using validated questionnaires. We used hierarchical linear regression to test predictors of distress marital status. Finally, we analyzed interactions between marital status and hardship, social support, and food security to examine whether these variables explained differences in distress among married and unmarried women. Results Results indicated that unmarried women may be at higher risk of distress following natural disasters. Unmarried women were younger, had lower food security and education levels. We found no differences between experiences of hurricane-related hardship based on marital status. However, unmarried women were likely to have higher levels of distress following the hurricane. Hardship was a significant predictor of distress, but food security and social support were not significant predictors. Conclusions This study identifies unmarried pregnant women as a high risk/vulnerable group that may need additional support during emergencies. Taken together, this study further assesses how socially disadvantaged members of society may be unequally impacted by natural disasters. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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