The psychological impact of chronic environmental adversity: Responding to prolonged drought Helen J. Stain a, * , Brian Kelly b , Vaughan J. Carr c, d , Terry J. Lewin b , Michael Fitzgerald e , Lyn Fragar f a Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health, University of Newcastle, Orange, New South Wales, Australia b Centre for Brain and Mental Health Research, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia c School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia d Schizophrenia Research Institute, Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia e Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia f Australian Centre for Agricultural Health and Safety, University of Sydney, Moree, New South Wales, Australia article info Article history: Available online 6 October 2011 Keywords: Environmental adversity Drought Mental health Sense of place Connectedness Rural Hopefulness abstract The health effects of chronic environmental adversity have received insufficient attention, particularly those associated with the psychological impact of drought. Resilience or adaptive response to drought has received even less attention than vulnerability factors. This research examined factors associated with drought impact in rural and remote Australian communities. In 2008 postal surveys were completed by 302 adults (mean age 53 years; 57% female, 77% married) living in rural areas of prolonged drought exposure. Outcome measures were: (i) psychological distress (Kessler 10) and (ii) an index of concern or worry about drought. A range of predictor variables were assessed: adaptability (hopefulness, neuroticism), other adverse events, personal support and community connectedness, and sense of place, as a measure of connection to the local environment. Predictors of drought related worry differed from those associated with psychological distress levels. The former included socio-economic factors (living on a farm [Odds Ratio, OR 3.09], current employment [OR 3.64]), personal psychological characteristics (neuroticism [OR 1.29]), and greater connection with the environment (sense of place [OR 1.05]). On the other hand, psychological distress was associated chiefly with personal factors, such as higher neuroti- cism [OR 1.92], lower levels of hopefulness [OR 0.28], and lower perceived social support and community connectedness [OR 0.39]. Practical financial, employment and family factors were identified as important elements of drought impact, as to a lesser extent was sense of place, reflecting a confrontation with the consequences of chronic environmental degradation, while personal hopefulness may help mitigate the psychological impact of such adversity. Crown Copyright Ó 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Introduction Natural disaster related research has predominantly focussed on acute discrete events such as flood, fire and earthquakes. These disasters allow the affected community to identify an ‘end point’ to the disaster and therefore a recovery phase. The period after a flood sees external agencies, volunteers and residents working together to rebuild the community and support individuals (Carroll, Balogh, Moorbey, & Araoz, 2010). By contrast, drought is an ongoing chronic disaster or environmental adversity. In Australia, a minimum 12 months’ duration of drought is required for access to economic assistance (DAFF, 2008). For residents of drought affected areas there is a lack of surety in declaring the end of a drought period. Drought has been a common feature of the Australian climate and includes: the Federation drought (1895e1902), the World War II drought (1937e1945), and the current drought (commenced in 1995) that has lasted for more than 10 years (Kirono, Kent, Hennessy, & Mpelasoka, 2010). Drought in the southeast of Australia in 1994, 2002 and 2006 resulted in a 30% reduction in the agricultural Gross National Product (ABARE, 2008). There has been limited research on drought and even less on the psychological impact of drought, as much of the drought research has focussed on either risk for physical disease (Chou et al., 1996e2007) or from a resource insecurity perspective (Wutich & Ragsdale, 2008). There has been a lack of literature integrating these together rather than research on subthemes in different populations (Crighton, Elliott, van der Meer, Small, & Upshur, 2003). Research on environmental degradation that has explored the * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ61 263638449; fax: þ61 263612457. E-mail address: Helen.Stain@newcastle.edu.au (H.J. Stain). Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Social Science & Medicine journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/socscimed 0277-9536/$ e see front matter Crown Copyright Ó 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.09.016 Social Science & Medicine 73 (2011) 1593e1599