Evaluating the Health Impacts of Disasters on Youths

Abstract

Disasters have a clear toll on individual and population health. As many as 14% of youth in the United States experience a disaster before reaching adulthood (Becker-Blease et al., 2010). Further, climate change is projected to exacerbate human exposure to disasters.   

A vital barrier to addressing the health impacts of disasters is a lack of understanding of how disasters affect youth health behaviors. This study will address this critical gap by evaluating the impact of Hurricane Sandy (October 2012) on youth mental health and health behaviors. We will use the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a biennial school-based survey of health-related behaviors among adolescents in the United States, and the Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System, an annual phone-based survey of health-related behaviors among adults aged 18+ years across 136 metropolitan statistical areas in the United States. Both surveys included representative samples of youth located in the direct path of Hurricane Sandy and information on mental health indicators across a range of health behaviors, including substance use, sleep, and sexual health. Using data from 2005-2019, we will estimate difference-in-differences models to compare the mental health and health behaviors of youth in the direct path of Hurricane Sandy to those at further distances.