3. Environmental Psychology Defined:
A broad and interdisciplinary field of study
concentrating on the relationship between
humans and their environment.
Sustainability issues have pushed the
boundaries of this field of study. It now more
fully incorporates the affects of humans on
their environment as well as the environment
on them. Technology and societal issues
factor heavily in this field of psychology.
4. A Definition of Disaster.
“...an encounter between a hazard (forces of
harm) and a human population in harm's way,
influenced by the ecological context, creating
demands that exceed the coping capacity of
the affected community” (Ursano, 69).
6. Two Types of Disasters
Natural Human-Made
Earthquakes
Terrorism
Tornadoes
Oil Spills
Floods
Chemical leaks
Hurricanes
Nuclear
Fires
Mining
Tsunami
War
Avalanche
Technological
7. Two Types of Disasters
Natural Human-Made
Earthquakes
Terrorism
Tornadoes
Oil Spills
Floods
Chemical leaks
Hurricanes
Nuclear
Fires
Mining
Tsunami
War
Avalanche
Technological
8. Disasters Overlap as Technology
Advances.
Ask yourself how many of the examples given in
the previous slide occurred during the
Fukushima Earthquake in Japan? Are there
more examples that aren't listed?
9. External Events That Can Help induce
Trauma in Disaster Victims
“destruction of their dwelling, substantial property loss, loss of
job, exposure to traumatic stimuli, familiarity and
identification with victims, worry about safety of significant
others, stress reactions of significant others, preexisting
stress, major trauma or loss especially within the last
year, lack of social support, lack of material support, and
poor coping skills based on past experiences” (Myers, 42).
10. External Events That Can Help induce
Trauma in Victims dealing with violent
Disasters.
“Lack of warning, lack of familiarity, weapons that can't be
easily seen or identified, a wide spread perception that
government response systems are not prepared, serious
threat to personal safety, a sudden change in scene and
reality (such as a building being there one moment and
destroyed the next), the scope of destruction, the amount
of fatalities, exposure to gruesome or grotesque
situations, intentional human causality, intensity of
emotions and psychological reactions, high degree of
uncertainty, lack of personal control or accurate
information, immediate or long term health problems”
(Myers, 239-246).
12. Criterion A: Stressor
The person has been exposed to a traumatic event in which both
of the following have been present:
The person has experienced, witnessed, or been confronted
with an event or events that involve actual or threatened death
or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of oneself
or others.
The person's response involved intense fear,helplessness, or
horror. Note: in children, it may be expressed instead by
disorganized or agitated behavior.
13. What disaster events might cause someone to
experience symptoms of Criterion (A) ?
14. Criterion B: Intrusive Recollection
The traumatic event is persistently re-experienced in at least one of the
following ways:
Recurrent and intrusive distressing recollections of the event, including
images, thoughts, or perceptions. Note: in young children, repetitive play
may occur in which themes or aspects of the trauma are expressed.
Recurrent distressing dreams of the event. Note: in children, there may be
frightening dreams without recognizable content
Acting or feeling as if the traumatic event were recurring (includes a sense
of reliving the experience, illusions, hallucinations, and dissociative
flashback episodes,including those that occur upon awakening or when
intoxicated). Note: in children, trauma-specific reenactment may occur.
Intense psychological distress at exposure to internal or external cues that
symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event.
Physiologic reactivity upon exposure to internal or external cues that
symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event
15. What events might cause these symptoms outside of a war
environment?
16. Criterion C: avoidant/numbing
Persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma and numbing of
general responsiveness (not present before the trauma), as indicated by at
least three of the following:
Efforts to avoid thoughts, feelings, or conversations associated with the
trauma
Efforts to avoid activities, places, or people that arouse recollections of the
trauma
Inability to recall an important aspect of the trauma
Markedly diminished interest or participation in significant activities
Feeling of detachment or estrangement from others
Restricted range of affect (e.g., unable to have loving feelings)
Sense of foreshortened future (e.g., does not expect to have a career,
marriage, children, or a normal life span)
17. Have you experienced one of these symptoms?
How might it feel to experience three of them
simultaneously?
18. Criterion D: hyper-arousal
Persistent symptoms of increasing arousal (not present before the
trauma), indicated by at least two of the following:
Difficulty falling or staying asleep
Irritability or outbursts of anger
Difficulty concentrating
Hyper-vigilance
Exaggerated startle response
19. Though rape may not be immediately thought of
as part of enviromental psychology,these
symptoms are especially prevalent in rape
victims.
In a meta-analysis of 160 samples of disaster victims over 20
years, it was found that in 94% of the samples, females were
“more adversely impacted irrespective of if they were children,
adolescents, or adults...” (Myers, 58).
21. Often soldiers will fake normalcy in order to
continue with their duties making this criteria
difficult to ascertain in their situation.
situation
22. Criterion F: functional significance
The disturbance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in
social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.
Specify if:
Acute: if duration of symptoms is less than three months
Chronic: if duration of symptoms is three months or more
Specify if:
With or Without delay onset: Onset of symptoms at least six months
after the stressor
23. Keep in mind that trauma can have varying effect
on different socioeconomic groups as well as age
groups. Traumatic experiences do not necessarily
indicate a person will suffer from PTSD, but there
is a strong correlation between disaster events
and this particular disorder.
24. Questions to consider.
How might you react to an environmental
disaster and how might that differ from other
traumatic events?
How are natural environmental disasters
different from other disaster events such as
terrorism?
25. Works Cited
Fullerton, Carol, and Robert Ursano. Textbook of Disaster Psychiatry. New York: Cambridge
University Press, 2007. Print.
Myers, Diane. Disaster Mental Health Services. New York: Routledge Taylor& Francis Group,
2005. Print.
"PTSD Screening Instruments."United States Department of Veterans Affairs. US Department of
Veterans Affairs, 02 Nov 2012. Web. 4 Apr 2013.
