Quakes impact on substance use and mental health quantified.
Cantabrians who experienced serious quake-related adversity are twice as likely to be addicted to smoking and 40 per
cent more likely to have mental health conditions such as major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder than
people who did not experience the earthquakes, new research shows.
However for Cantabrians who experienced minimal trauma, loss or ongoing disruption associated with the quakes, the
psychological impact was less strong.
This information is contained in a paper by University of Otago, Christchurch, researchers, published in the latest
edition of the prestigious JAMA Psychiatry Journal.
The researchers are in a unique position to gather facts on the psychological impact of quakes. For more than 30 years
Professor David Fergusson and his Christchurch Health and Development Study colleagues have collected in-depth data on
the mental health of a group of more than 1000 people born in Canterbury during 1977. By chance, just over half of study
participants were in Canterbury for the majority of the earthquakes.
The team found:
• Cantabrians who experienced serious adversity, both through earthquake events and following consequences, were 40 per
cent more likely than those living outside the region to have at least one of several kinds of disorder including: major
depression, post-traumatic stress disorder or anxiety disorder.
• Rates of clinically significant nicotine dependence were 1.9 times higher in the group of people most affected by
earthquakes compared to those not affected by quakes.
• Rates of drinking and illicit drug taking did not increase significantly in those adversely affected by earthquakes.
Professor Fergusson says: “These findings are likely to apply to other areas affected by major disasters and highlight
the need to provide increased support to those most severely affected by these disasters. It is also clear, however,
that the majority of those facing disasters are resilient and do not develop mental health problems.”
Professor Fergusson says it appears the psychological impact of the quakes could have been worse if community spirit
were not so strong.
“A key consideration (in studying the impact of Canterbury quakes) is the well-organised and responsive way in which
the Canterbury community responded to these disasters with widespread support for those families affected by the
disasters. This is likely to have acted as a protective factor in mitigating the consequence for those with high levels
of exposure to earthquake-related adversity.’’
The findings of Professor Fergusson’s study relate to those aged in their early 3os (study participants) and are less
informative for older or younger people.
The study was funded by the Health Research Council, Cure Kids, the Canterbury Medical Research Foundation and the New
Zealand Lottery Grants Board.
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