Maternal exposure to oil spill and children’s mental health: The mediating role of resource loss

OBJECTIVES: To assess the effect of maternal oil spill exposure on children's mental health and examine whether maternal resource loss mediated this relationship. METHODS: 445 mother-child pairs from the Women and Their Children's Health Study in Louisiana (2012-2016) were examined. Maternal oil spill exposure from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill was measured at Wave 1 (2012-2014), while children's mental health and maternal resource loss were assessed at Wave 2 (2014-2016). Structural equation modeling estimated the direct and indirect effects of maternal oil spill exposure on children's mental health through maternal resource loss. RESULTS: Mothers (mean age 42 years (SD 7.7) and children (mean age 13 years (SD 2.2)) were interviewed. Maternal oil spill exposure was not directly related to children's mental health (est = -0.08, p = 0.436). However, exposure was associated with increased maternal resource loss (est = 0.45, p < .0001), which was associated with worse children's mental health (est = 0.27, p < .0001). Maternal oil spill exposure was compatible with an indirect negative effect on children's mental health (i.e., worse mental health scores) mediated by resource loss (est = 0.12, p < 0.005). CONCLUSION: Findings suggest maternal oil spill exposure indirectly affects children's mental health through resource loss. Interventions mitigating resource loss are vital for supporting children's mental well-being after disasters.