Perceived resilience: Examining impacts of the deepwater horizon oil spill one-year post-spill

Scant research has focused on resilient responding to disasters such as oil spills a year or more after the event. One year after the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, this study assessed perceived resilience, relations between resiliency and psychological symptoms, and the degree to which self-reported resiliency was associated with reduced psychological symptoms after accounting for differences in economic impact sustained by Gulf Coast residents. Participants were 812 adults (64% women, mean age 50) of 2 Alabama coastal communities. Participants were administered a telephone survey 1-year post-spill assessing self-perceptions of impact factors (e.g., economic and social), resilience, coping, and depressive and PTSD symptoms. Most participants perceived themselves as resilient (n = 739). As expected, lower perceived resilience was associated with greater ongoing depressive and PTSD symptoms. Spill-related economic impact predicted greater depressive and PTSD symptoms; however, perceived resilience predicted significant variance in psychological symptoms after taking into account spill-related economic impact. Improving individuals' sense of resiliency may help mitigate psychosocial and mental health effects over time.