This paper explores the psychological aftermath of the accident at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant on 300 women evacuated to Kyiv from the contaminated area surrounding the plant and 300 controls. The study was conducted 11 years after the accident using structured interviews containing translated versions of the Impact of Events scale, the SCL-90, self-rating of health, the Health Worry questionnaire, the Illness Amplification Scale, and the self-regard scale, along with a set of Chornobyl stress indicators. The evacuee mothers were significantly more symptomatic than controls on all of the health and mental health ratings. Within the evacuee group, subjective measures of Chornobyl stress were strongly related to health and mental health, but objective variables, such as being pregnant at the time of Chornobyl, were not related. Women who were both diagnosed by a doctor with a Chornobyl-related disease and believed that Chornobyl had harmed their health were at greatest risk for anxiety, somatization, PTSD, and poor self-rated health. These findings are consistent with other studies of radiation accidents, such as Hiroshima and Three Mile Island, suggesting that there are very long-term effects on overall well-being and on health-related anxiety.
Learning Objectives: cross-cultural methodology psychiatric epidemiology
Keywords: Disasters, Mental Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.