In recent times, various countries have experienced the ravages of major natural disasters like hurricanes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, floods and earthquakes. They have also had to deal with the repercussions of human-made disasters engineered by terrorists. Major disasters of any kind cause a multiplicity of social and economic problems and wreak havoc in the lives of individuals, families and communities (Centre for Mental Health and NSW Institute of Psychiatry, 2000;Yanay and Benjamin, 2005).According to the Centre for Mental Health and the New South Wales (NSW) Institute of Psychiatry (2000: 5) 'less developed countries have greater morbidity and mortality from disasters than do more developed countries even when population density is controlled'. Thus, disasters can have a severe impact on the socioeconomic bases of small developing states with fragile economies such as those of the Caribbean. Many of these countries already lack an adequate public health infrastructure and structured emergency planning, efficient communication and transportation systems, and the human and material resources to mitigate a major disaster and/or ensure recovery. Ironically, a country can never prepare enough for a disaster, particularly a natural disaster, since it is
The aim of the study was to deepen understanding of the context of vulnerability which is associated with drug-taking behaviour and addiction. The researchers sought to identify recurring psychosocial and environmental factors in the childhood and early adulthood backgrounds of the participants. They further scrutinized the data for pairs or co-occurrences of such risk factors across the target groups. Qualitative methodology was employed, based on in-depth interviews. The participants were accessed in drug rehabilitation centres in Trinidad and in Barbados, bringing a cross-national dimension to the work. The Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) method was used to analyse the data.• Findings: It is significant that nearly half of the Trinidad group and two-thirds of the Barbados group reported experience of rejection or abandonment in childhood. A profile of stressful or traumatic experiences was compiled for each participant, from which it was possible to identify co-ocurring pairs of stressors, which suggest inter-relationships between the phenomena. Marked co-occurrence was found between domestic violence and alcoholism; domestic violence in the participants' family background and non-attainment of. Secondary School Certification; non-attainment of Secondary School Certification and rejection; poverty and rejection; domestic violence and rejection.
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