Conservation of resources and suicide proneness after oilrig disaster

Abstract

The current study applied the Conservation of Resources (COR) disaster theory to explain suicide proneness after the Deepwater Horizon oilrig explosion. We had 213 residents in affected areas with complete measures of resource stability, distress, and coping 18 months after the disaster. Overall, 10% expressed clinically elevated suicide proneness. The COR model had excellent fit that accounted for 41% of inter-individual differences in suicide proneness. Aligned with theory, residents lacking resources who experienced distress and coped by avoidance were more suicide-prone. Fostering resource stability and constructive coping after catastrophe may help reduce suicide proneness and prevent suicide in disaster-impacted citizens.

Acknowledgments

Many thanks to the community members who participated in this study.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained by all participants.

Authors contribution

JL-R conceptualized the study and collected the data. TB analyzed the data and prepared the first draft. CS also helped with data collection and editing the manuscript. All authors contributed to the final version of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

Authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported through a SAMHSA State Emergency Response Grant awarded to the second author and the Alabama Department of Mental Health after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. The second author was also supported by the Gulf Region Health Outreach Program (GRHOP) during the creation of this publication. The Outreach Program was developed jointly by BP and the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee as part of the Deepwater Horizon Medical Benefits Class Action Settlement, which was approved by the U.S. District Court in New Orleans on 11 January 2013 and became effective on 12 February 2014. The Outreach Program is supervised by the court, and is funded with $105 million from the Medical Settlement.