The psychological impact of the risks of mines caving-in: anxiety, perception of the environment and access to information

Research has been conducted to assess the extent to which the risk of losing one's home or seeing it damaged due to a mine cave-in influences an individual's state of health and, in particular, of anxiety. According to the results, persons living in such risky situations have higher anxiety scores than members of a control group. Furthermore, their perception of the environment apparently affects their anxiety: the individuals most affected have a deteriorated perception of their environment. This study draws attention to the key role played by networks of associations, where inhabitants feel they can obtain reliable information. (authors)