A Qualitative Study to Explain the Factors Influencing Mental Health after a Flooding

Annika Hieronimi (), Johanna Elbel, Michael Schneider, Inga Wermuth, Gerd Schulte-Körne, Dennis Nowak and Stephan Bose-O’Reilly
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Annika Hieronimi: Institute and Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80336 Munich, Germany
Johanna Elbel: Institute and Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80336 Munich, Germany
Michael Schneider: Institute of Sociology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, 80801 Munich, Germany
Inga Wermuth: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80336 Munich, Germany
Gerd Schulte-Körne: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80336 Munich, Germany
Dennis Nowak: Institute and Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80336 Munich, Germany
Stephan Bose-O’Reilly: Institute and Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80336 Munich, Germany

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 20, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Background: Children and adolescents are considered to be particularly vulnerable to the psychological effects of climate change, such as extreme weather events. What are the protective factors and stressors for the mental health of the young population after extreme weather events in Germany? Methods: Nine semi-structured interviews with representatives of occupational groups providing care to children, adolescents, and political stakeholders were conducted in Simbach am Inn, a German town affected by flooding in 2016. The interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis according to Mayring. Results: The interviews show that the parents’ dealing with what they had experienced and the concern for their relatives were the most influential stressors for children and adolescents. As protective factors, they felt that conversations with familiar people and restoring a certain “normality” were particularly important. The interviewees described both, the time of the flooding, and the time after the initial state of shock had subsided, as particularly stressful. Consequently, the experts reported on children and adolescents acutely complaining of fear, helplessness, and extreme tension. Nevertheless, the demand for psychological care increased only slightly after the flooding in Simbach am Inn. Conclusion: The social environment of children and adolescents is essential for their psychological well-being after an extreme weather event. Research, especially on children and adolescents who have already been affected, must increase in order to be able to describe influencing factors even more precisely, to protect individuals from adverse mental health effects, and to identify healthcare requirements.

Keywords: extreme weather events; flooding; mental health; stressors; protective factors; children and adolescents (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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