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Psychosocial health of residents exposed to soil pollution in a Flemish neighbourhood

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  • Vandermoere, Frédéric

Abstract

The objective of this study is to examine several major covariates of mental health among residents living on polluted soil. In the Kouterwijk community, Belgium, which is contaminated by heavy metals and polyaromatic hydrocarbons, 109 residents were compared with a quasi-control group (n = 161). The mental health of the exposed residents was much worse than in the matched group. To examine the residents' mental health in detail, site-specific variables were added in a binary logistic regression. The probability of distress did not covary with independently assessed or perceived danger of the contaminants, but with residents' sense of participation in consultation over the contamination problem, and with interaction of the latter with a perceived need for decontamination. This suggests that a disbelief in the necessity of risk mitigation, along with a perceived lack of participation, can be more stressful than actual and perceived contamination.

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  • Vandermoere, Frédéric, 2008. "Psychosocial health of residents exposed to soil pollution in a Flemish neighbourhood," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(7), pages 1646-1657, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:66:y:2008:i:7:p:1646-1657
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    1. Zhongjun Tang & Zengli Guo & Li Zhou & Shengguo Xue & Qinfeng Zhu & Huike Zhu, 2016. "Combined and Relative Effect Levels of Perceived Risk, Knowledge, Optimism, Pessimism, and Social Trust on Anxiety among Inhabitants Concerning Living on Heavy Metal Contaminated Soil," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-17, November.
    2. Frederic Vandermoere & Raf Vanderstraeten, 2014. "Back and forward to the future: an explorative study of public responses to urban groundwater contamination," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(5), pages 720-732, May.
    3. Xiaonuo Li & Wentao Jiao & Rongbo Xiao & Weiping Chen & Yanying Bai, 2016. "Regional Variations of Public Perception on Contaminated Industrial Sites in China and Its Influencing Factors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-16, April.

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