Impact of Natural Disasters on Mental Health: A Cross-Sectional Study Based on the 2014 China Family Panel Survey

Abstract

Mental health problems are a leading cause of disability in both developed and developing countries, and the consequences of mental health disorders for individuals, families, and society as a whole could be severe and costly. To supplement relevant research and provide insightful policy suggestions to families, government and societies, this study investigates the nexus between natural disasters and mental health for middle-aged and older adults in rural China. Based on data of 8721 observations from the 2014 China Family Panel Studies, we estimate the effects of natural disasters on mental health using ordinary least squares and propensity score matching. Our findings suggest that natural disasters have a significant negative effect on middle-aged and older adults’ mental health in the case of rural China. This effect is heterogeneous depending on individuals’ education level and their agricultural production status. Finally, individuals’ happiness and life satisfaction are shown to be the potential mechanism through which the effect of natural disasters on mental health operates.

Relationship between Income and Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic in China

“…The main outcome variable in this paper is the mental health status of individuals in China. In order to evaluate individuals’ mental health more objectively and comprehensively, following existing studies [ 54 ], the mental health index is derived from the 6-item short form of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies of Depression (CES-D) in the CFPS. (CES-D questions: (1) In the past week, how many times have you felt down?…”

Impact of income on mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: Based on the 2020 China family panel survey

“…The dependent variable in this paper is the mental health status of individuals in China. In order to evaluate individual’s mental health more objectively and comprehensively, following existing studies ( Zhang et al, 2022 ), the mental health index is derived from the 6-item short form of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies of Depression (CES-D) in the CFPS. (CES-D questions: 1.…”

The impact of natural disasters on rural household wealth: Micro evidence from China

“…Natural disasters might impact rural household wealth through harming population health. For example, previous studies have found that natural disasters, such as typhoons, mudslides, and hailstorms, may adversely affect the physical health of individuals, sometimes causing death (Kahn, 2005;Han et al, 2021), and may also negatively affect individuals' mental health (Graham et al, 2019;Zhang et al, 2022). Residents need to spend time and money to improve ill health.…”

“…Given that natural hazards affect residents' work and lives in different ways, many studies have examined the impact of natural disasters on individual and household economic behavior. Existing research found that natural disasters affect individuals' well-being (Rehdanz et al, 2015), investor sentiment (Hirshleifer and Shumway, 2003;Kamstra et al, 2003;Kaplanski and Levy, 2010), migration (Saldaña-Zorrilla and Sandberg, 2009;Warner and Afifi, 2014;Cattaneo and Peri, 2016;Pajaron and Vasquez, 2020), risk preferences (Bourdeau-Brien and Kryzanowski, 2020), mental health (Shultz, 2014;Graham et al, 2019;Zhang et al, 2022), and children's development (Rabassa et al, 2012;Deuchert and Felfe, 2015). Furthermore, studies have examined the impact of natural disasters on household income inequality (Yamamura, 2015;Abdullah et al, 2016;Keerthiratne and Tol, 2017), household savings (Filipski et al, 2019), household debt (Gallagher and Hartley, 2017), household consumption (Arndt et al, 2004;Wahdat, et al, 2021), and other household behaviors.…”