title: Psychosocial health of residents exposed to soil pollution in a Flemish neighbourhood.
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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Ghent University, Korte Meer 5, Gent, Oost Vlaanderen, Belgium. frederic.vandermoere@ugent.be
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vandermoere
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001530:Belgium / Q000453:epidemiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003256:Community Participation; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D000075322:Heavy Metal Poisoning; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis / Q000506:poisoning; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000506:poisoning; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology
chemical_list: D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D012989:Soil Pollutants