Association of Public Works Disasters with Substance Use Difficulties: Evidence from Flint, Michigan, Five Years after the Water Crisis Onset
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Data Collection and Sample
2.2. Survey Content
2.2.1. Substance Use
2.2.2. Correlates of Substance Use
2.3. Statistical Analyses
3. Results
3.1. Perceived Harm from the Water Crisis
3.2. Substance Use
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A
Variable | No. | % |
---|---|---|
Sex | 1946 | |
Female | 1061 | 54.5% |
Male | 885 | 45.5% |
Education | 1965 | |
Less than high school diploma | 295 | 15.0% |
High school diploma/GED | 760 | 38.7% |
Some college/associate’s degree | 654 | 33.3% |
4-year college graduate | 163 | 8.3% |
Post-graduate training | 92 | 4.7% |
Race | 1951 | |
Asian | 2 | 0.1% |
Black or African American | 1043 | 53.5% |
Native American | 5 | 0.3% |
More than one | 41 | 2.1% |
Other | 31 | 1.6% |
White | 829 | 42.5% |
Hispanic ethnicity | 1946 | |
Hispanic | 1895 | 97.4% |
Non-Hispanic | 51 | 2.6% |
Marital status | 1950 | |
Married | 552 | 28.3% |
Divorced/separated | 398 | 20.4% |
Widowed | 136 | 7.0% |
Never married | 864 | 44.3% |
Household size | 1899 | |
1-person household | 460 | 24.2% |
2-person household | 682 | 35.9% |
3-person household | 347 | 18.3% |
4+person household | 410 | 21.6% |
Annual income | 1836 | |
Less than $25,000 | 1043 | 56.8% |
$25,000–$49,999 | 499 | 27.2% |
$50,000–$74,999 | 178 | 9.7% |
$75,000–$99,999 | 55 | 3.0% |
$100,00 or more | 61 | 3.3% |
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Substance Use Interference with Daily Life Since the Crisis Onset a | Past Month Binge Drinking b | Marijuana Consumption Since the Crisis Onset c | Methamphetamine, Heroin, or Non- Prescribed Opioid Use Since the Crisis Onset d | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Prevalence, No. (%) | 335 (17.0) | 432 (21.9) | 638 (32.4) | 102 (5.2) |
Sociodemographic correlates | RR (95% CI) | |||
Race | ||||
Black | 0.98 (0.77–1.25) | 0.96 (0.76–1.21) | 0.86 (0.74–1.01) | 1.20 (0.76–1.90) |
>1 Race | 1.32 (0.81–2.15) | 1.24 (0.68–2.29) | 0.91 (0.62–1.34) | 1.76 (0.71–4.33) |
Other | 1.37 (0.72–2.60) | 1.47 (0.83–2.61) | 0.87 (0.46–1.64) | 1.29 (0.53–3.15) |
White | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] |
Sex | ||||
Female | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] |
Male | 1.71 (1.36–2.14) | 1.27 (1.01–1.58) | 1.39 (1.19–1.61) | 0.95 (0.61–1.49) |
Income, per year. $ | ||||
≥$25,000 | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] |
<$25,000 | 1.33(1.04–1.71) | 1.17 (0.94–1.48) | 1.56 (1.32–1.85) | 2.05 (1.23–3.42) |
Substance Use Interference with Daily Life Since the Crisis Onset | Past Month Binge Drinking | Marijuana Consumption Since the Crisis Onset | Methamphetamine, Heroin, or Non- Prescribed Opioid Use Since the Crisis Onset | |
---|---|---|---|---|
RR (95% CI) | ||||
Water crisis-related correlates | ||||
Believe that health was harmed by exposures a | 1.32 (1.03–1.70) | 1.06 (0.84–1.33) | 1.31 (1.12–1.55) | 0.97 (0.62–1.53) |
Have low confidence in official information b | 0.99 (0.77–1.28) | 1.16 (0.90–1.47) | 1.33 (1.11–1.59) | 0.94 (0.58–1.53) |
Pre-existing psychological risk factor correlates | ||||
Past exposures to any potentially traumatic events c | 2.99 (1.90–4.71) | 1.63 (1.18–2.27) | 2.08 (1.59–2.71) | 3.91 (1.55–9.87) |
Exposure to physical/sexual assault/abuse c | 4.11 (2.60–6.50) | 1.90 (1.34–2.69) | 2.47 (1.88–3.24)) | 4.88 (1.88–12.67) |
Exposure to a non-assault traumatic event c | 1.71 (1.02–2.84) | 1.35 (0.93–1.94) | 1.59 (1.18–2.14) | 2.73 (1.03–7.25) |
Low social support d | 1.94 (1.41–2.66) | 1.29 (0.97–1.71) | 1.24 (1.02–1.50) | 1.81 (1.02–3.22) |
Diagnosable mental disorder correlates | ||||
PTSD e | 1.78 (1.42–2.23) | 1.92 (1.66–2.23) | 2.41 (2. 14–6.15) | 3.34 (2.64–4.27) |
Depression e | 1.49 (1.18–1.87) | 1.60 (1.38–1.86) | 2.69 (1.72–4.21) | 2.72 (2.17–3.42) |
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Onookome-Okome, T.; Hsu, A.; Kilpatrick, D.G.; Moreland, A.; Reuben, A. Association of Public Works Disasters with Substance Use Difficulties: Evidence from Flint, Michigan, Five Years after the Water Crisis Onset. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20, 7090. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20237090
Onookome-Okome T, Hsu A, Kilpatrick DG, Moreland A, Reuben A. Association of Public Works Disasters with Substance Use Difficulties: Evidence from Flint, Michigan, Five Years after the Water Crisis Onset. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2023; 20(23):7090. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20237090
Chicago/Turabian StyleOnookome-Okome, Tuviere, Angel Hsu, Dean G. Kilpatrick, Angela Moreland, and Aaron Reuben. 2023. "Association of Public Works Disasters with Substance Use Difficulties: Evidence from Flint, Michigan, Five Years after the Water Crisis Onset" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 20, no. 23: 7090. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20237090