Maternal exposure to oil spill and children’s mental health: The mediating role of resource loss

Ariane Lisann Rung, Katie M Sternberger, Evrim Oral and Edward S Peters

PLOS ONE, 2026, vol. 21, issue 6, 1-12

Abstract: Objectives: To assess the effect of maternal oil spill exposure on children’s mental health and examine whether maternal resource loss mediated this relationship. Methods: 445 mother-child pairs from the Women and Their Children’s Health Study in Louisiana (2012–2016) were examined. Maternal oil spill exposure from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill was measured at Wave 1 (2012–2014), while children’s mental health and maternal resource loss were assessed at Wave 2 (2014–2016). Structural equation modeling estimated the direct and indirect effects of maternal oil spill exposure on children’s mental health through maternal resource loss. Results: Mothers (mean age 42 years (SD 7.7) and children (mean age 13 years (SD 2.2)) were interviewed. Maternal oil spill exposure was not directly related to children’s mental health (est = −0.08, p = 0.436). However, exposure was associated with increased maternal resource loss (est = 0.45, p

Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0335995

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0335995

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