Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/18998
Title: Fracked: Coal seam gas extraction and farmers' mental health
Contributor(s): Morgan, Methuen  (author); Hine, Don W  (author)orcid ; Bhullar, Navjot  (author)orcid ; Dunstan, Debra  (author)orcid ; Bartik, Warren  (author)orcid 
Publication Date: 2016
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2016.04.012
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/18998
Abstract: Farmers are exposed to a unique range of vocational stressors, and while mental health morbidity is similar to their non-rural counterparts, suicide rates in the farming community are higher. We examined the contribution of coal seam gas (CSG) extraction to the global stress burden and mental health of 378 Australian farmers (mean age = 53.08 years; SD = 10.28). Exploratory factor analysis revealed that CSG items added two unique dimensions to the Edinburgh Farming Stress Inventory (EFSI): Off-Farm CSG Concerns (concerns about possible impacts of CSG extraction on human health, communities, and the environment) and On-Farm CSG Concerns (potential CSG impacts on farm profitability, disruption of farm operations, and privacy). Subscales based on the new factors correlated significantly with farmers' self-reported levels of depression, anxiety and stress reactivity, as assessed by the DASS-21. Latent profile analysis categorized farmers into four distinct segments based on their overall stress profiles: Non-Stressed (39%), Finance-Stressed (31%), CSG-Stressed (15%) and Globally-Stressed (15%). Farmers in the CSG-Stressed and Globally-Stressed profiles exhibited clinically significant levels of psychological morbidity. This information can be used to inform strategies for improving mental health outcomes in the agrigasfields of Australia.
Publication Type: Journal Article
Source of Publication: Journal of Environmental Psychology, v.47, p. 22-32
Publisher: Academic Press
Place of Publication: United Kingdom
ISSN: 1522-9610
0272-4944
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: 170113 Social and Community Psychology
170106 Health, Clinical and Counselling Psychology
Fields of Research (FoR) 2020: 520302 Clinical psychology
520505 Social psychology
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: 920410 Mental Health
970117 Expanding Knowledge in Psychology and Cognitive Sciences
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2020: 200409 Mental health
280121 Expanding knowledge in psychology
Peer Reviewed: Yes
HERDC Category Description: C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal
Appears in Collections:Journal Article
School of Psychology

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