Does Geography Matter? Neighborhood Effects on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder of NYC Public School Children after 9/11
Item
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Title
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Does Geography Matter? Neighborhood Effects on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder of NYC Public School Children after 9/11
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Identifier
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d_2009_2013:c31c5f4edddc:11666
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identifier
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12261
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Creator
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Musa, George J.,
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Contributor
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William Solecki
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Date
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2013
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Geography | Mental health | Epidemiology | 9/11 | Children | NYC Public School | PTSD | WTC Attack
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Abstract
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An epidemiological study was conducted six months after 9/11 under the auspices of the NYC Board of Education, to evaluate the impact of the World Trade Center attacks on children's mental health. A large representative sample of public school students in grades 4-12 (N=8,236) was screened for eight psychiatric disorders including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), as well as various types of exposures to the 9/11, health problems, family circumstances, etc.;Analyses of these data have indicated that being a student at a Ground Zero Area (GZA) school was not a significant risk factor for developing PTSD. These findings were contradictory to existing literature on PTSD. In previous PTSD studies, distance was not measured in fine scale (i.e., X miles from traumatic event), instead, arbitrary distance categories were used (i.e., was in school, was at home, etc.). For this study, Euclidian distance from the students' home zip code to their GZA schools, transportation distance and travel time have been calculated to help understand this phenomenon. Additionally, neighborhood variables (including socio-economic status (SES), residential mobility, safety, quality, and location-based physical exposure measures), as well as school environment and performance, are used to observe their potential influence.;Analyses are conducted within a geographical theoretical framework, where spatial dependence is measured and controlled for. This study will inform epidemiological, mental health and geographic literatures regarding new methodologies and will help to expand the general understanding of PTSD, the geographies of mental health, and the role and definition of physical exposure after a large-scale event, such as that of 9/11.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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2009_2013.csv
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Earth & Environmental Sciences
