RISK PERCEPTIONS AND STRESS DURING THE THREAT OF EXPLOSION FROM A RAILROAD ACCIDENT

Social Behavior and Personality, 2004 by Lange, Lori J, Fleming, Raymond, Toussaint, Loren L

Chemical risk perceptions did not moderate psychological stress in the current study. Given that the accident was caused by a train derailment, the most immediate threat was due to explosion from ignited propane tanks. Chemical threat may have been viewed as less urgent as the health effects of environmental contamination are typically gradual and long-term and may not have been perceived as a current threat to well-being as residents were removed from the area of potential contamination. In the current study, only risk perceptions related to the cause of an accident (i.e., transportation), moderated psychological stress during the acute phase of the disaster.

Whereas this study has many strengths in its approach to risk perceptions and stress, it has limitations in that it was quasi-experimental in design, and typical of disaster studies. Longitudinal data are needed to further develop research on risk perceptions and stress and to elucidate causal connections in this process. Another limitation was the sample size, although the sample from the study was over 2% of the population of Weyauwega and Campbellsport. The decision to collect data during the evacuation period was made with the understanding that there would be limitations in sample size based on the size of the community, time constraints, and the situation of evacuation. However, we felt that the benefits of measuring stress in evacuees during a technological disaster far outweighed the costs. Certainly more work is needed to further investigate evacuation stress and risk perceptions.

The current study demonstrates the impact of a disaster on risk perceptions and supports the prediction that risk perceptions for the familiar railroad are less likely to become elevated even in the event of a train derailment, whereas risk perceptions related to technologies typically perceived as "riskier" are more subject to becoming amplified. Therefore, monitoring risk perceptions to assess amplification of risk may be most relevant during an accident involving a technological system that is perceived as less controllable and less understood. However, findings of the current study also suggest that it is important to assess risk perceptions for technologies that are typically viewed as routine and familiar, as levels of risk perception for the technology responsible for the accident further accounts for variance in psychological distress in victims during a disaster. The findings of this study provide important insight into the role risk perceptions play in reactions to traumatic events brought about by technology. Gauging risk perceptions directly related to a technological accident may be useful in predicting response to such a disaster.

REFERENCES

Baum, A. (1991). Toxins, technology, and natural disasters. In A. Monat & R.S. Lazarus (Eds.) Stress & coping: An anthology (3rd ed., pp 97-139). New York: Columbia University Press.

Baum, A., Fleming, R., & Davidson, L. M. (1983). Natural disaster and technological catastrophe. Environment and Behavior, 15, 333-354.