Children and adolescents \u2014 who are still learning to regulate their emotions, rely on routine and a sense of safety more than most adults do, and get social and mental stimulation from interacting with peers \u2014 are among the demographics most vulnerable<\/a> to the chaos and isolation brought on by extreme weather events. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A study<\/a> published in mid-January in the Journal of Traumatic Stress analyzed survey data from more than 90,000 public school students across Puerto Rico in the months following Hurricane Maria\u2019s landfall in September 2017. Maria, a Category 5 storm that caused widespread destruction in the northern Caribbean, killed nearly 3,000 people in Puerto Rico and caused mass blackouts that left huge portions of the island without electricity and drinking water for months<\/a> \u2014 a reflection of decades of disinvestment in and mismanagement<\/a> of the island\u2019s infrastructure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some 30 percent of the students surveyed five to nine months after the hurricane made landfall said they felt their lives were threatened by the storm, 46 percent said their homes were significantly damaged, and 17 percent said they were injured or a family member was injured. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Roughly 7 percent of the young people surveyed \u2014 about 6,300 students \u2014 developed symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, after the storm. For this subset, the psychological consequences of living through Maria and its aftermath were extreme. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Prior research has shown that young people are more likely to turn to alcohol as a coping mechanism after experiencing traumatic stress, a precursor to PTSD. A study published in 2021<\/a> hypothesized that children living in Louisiana who were exposed to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 would have higher rates of anxiety, depression, and alcohol use as teenagers than the general population in southeastern Louisiana. The researchers found a connection: the more severe the traumatic stress during and after the disaster, the more likely the individual was to report substance use. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere is an initial link that has been found in other research,\u201d said Alejandro L. V\u00e1zquez, the lead author of the Puerto Rico study and an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. But a huge question remains. \u201cThe mechanism for why<\/em> kids are using substances in this situation is less clear,\u201d he said. V\u00e1zquez wanted to figure out which specific symptoms of traumatic stress were linked to alcohol and substance abuse in the students who suffered PTSD symptoms after Hurricane Maria. He found that angry outbursts and irritable behavior, two of the core symptoms of PTSD, were strongly correlated to self-reported substance use. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Robbie Parks, an environmental epidemiologist at Columbia University\u2019s Mailman School of Public Health, called the study a \u201cfantastic synthesis of how the hidden burden of climate-related disasters such as Hurricane Maria can have long-lasting, non-obvious impacts on the way that our health and well-being is maintained.\u201d Parks was not involved in the research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The ultimate purpose of the research, V\u00e1zquez told Grist, is to arm counselors, teachers, and mental health professionals with information that can help them identify PTSD as it forms in young people post-disaster and intervene before it prompts them to develop unhealthy habits. \u201cWhen we think about trajectories, if you get into the habit of using these maladaptive coping strategies, you can build biological dependence on substances,\u201d V\u00e1zquez said. \u201cOne storm can have this life-changing effect for a child.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The upshot is that isolating the behaviors that may eventually lead to alcohol and drug dependence is a first step toward protecting children from some of the more visceral consequences of surviving a disaster like a hurricane. The study found that children who had a supportive caregiver, friend, or teacher were less likely to turn to harmful coping devices. \u201cThis is consistent with the idea that the disintegration of social structures \u2014 be it climate change or otherwise \u2014 will impact the way people behave after a traumatic event,\u201d Parks said. \u201cIt speaks to the particular vulnerability of youth in a resource-scarce area.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n More research is needed to figure out exactly how to help youth survive the mental repercussions of hurricanes and other extreme weather events, V\u00e1zquez said, especially as climate change becomes more severe. \u201cThere\u2019s going to continue to be intense storms with more devastation in low-lying areas like Puerto Rico that are more vulnerable,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you or someone you know may be considering suicide, contact the <\/em>988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline<\/em><\/a> by calling or texting 9-8-8, or the <\/em>Crisis Text Line<\/em><\/a> by texting HOME to 741741.<\/em><\/p>\n This story was originally published by Grist<\/a> with the headline How climate disasters hurt adolescents’ mental health<\/a> on Jan 19, 2024.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/grist.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/GettyImages-858074708_HurricaneMaria_PR2.jpg\")
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