Anxiety and resilience in the face of natural disasters associated with climate change: A review and methodological critique

In the past two decades, climate change-related natural disasters, such as hurricanes, floods, and droughts have become increasingly frequent and severe, impacting the emotional and psychological well-being of those who are directly or indirectly exposed to them. Despite great interest in understanding differences in anxiety and resilience in response to natural disasters, enthusiasm appears to outstrip empirical clarity, as there remains considerable ambiguity as to determinants of resilient or pathological outcomes following exposure to natural disasters. In addition, there are several major methodological limitations in climate change and related natural disaster research, including the use of univariate analyses, cross-sectional design, and retrospective measures. Keeping these limitations in mind, we first review literature examining the mental health outcomes of natural disasters. Findings suggest that, overall, resilience is more common than pathological outcomes. Second, we use a multi-dimensional framework of resilience to selectively review factors at the event, individual, as well as family and community levels that could help inform resilient or pathological outcomes. Finally, we consider key limitations and future directions for research and practice in the field of anxiety and resilience in response to climate disasters.