· The Role
of the Media and Media Hypes in the Aftermath of Disasters
Peter Vasterman 1
C. Joris Yzermans 2
3. Anja J. E. Dirkzwager 2
Received July 29, 2004.
Accepted November 9, 2004.
Key words
MPI, mass psychogenic illness
·
INTRODUCTION
It is hardly a surprise that disasters occur more
often now than in the past: the world is getting more crowded, air traffic is
busier, terrorists are operating worldwide, and the world is much more
dependent on complex, but vulnerable technological systems. In the database of
the Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters, an increase was found
in the number of disasters worldwide. During the decade 1970–1979, 1,230
disasters were registered; in the 1980s, this figure was 2,856; and, in the
1990s, 4,790 disasters were listed. For the years 2000–2003, more than 3,000
disasters were reported (1). Disasters can be
defined as acute, collectively experienced traumatic events with a sudden
onset, and they can be both natural (e.g., hurricanes, floods, earthquakes) and
man-made (e.g., plane crashes, industrial accidents, terrorist attacks) (2).
A growing body of literature suggests that disasters
can have both short-term and long-term health consequences for the victims
involved, such as posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, or
substance abuse (2,3). Increased self-reports
of nonspecific psychological distress and medically unexplained physical
symptoms (e.g., fatigue, headache, difficulty concentrating, joint/muscle pain)
have been noted following disasters as well, for instance, after the Three Mile
Island nuclear accident in Pennsylvania (4), the Buffalo
Creek dam disaster in West Virginia (5), and the Amsterdam
air disaster in the Netherlands (6, 7). Similar symptoms
were also reported by veterans after their involvement in traumatic military
situations, such as the first Gulf War (8).
