Exposure Worry: The Psychological Impact of Perceived Ionizing Radiation Exposure in British Nuclear Test Veterans
dc.contributor.author | Collett, G | |
dc.contributor.author | Young, WR | |
dc.contributor.author | Martin, W | |
dc.contributor.author | Anderson, RM | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2021-12-02T13:54:35Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2021-11-20 | |
dc.date.updated | 2021-12-02T13:08:51Z | |
dc.description.abstract | Potential psychological issues faced by British nuclear test veterans have been under-researched. This study assessed the prevalence of clinically relevant anxiety in British nuclear test veterans and aimed to explore experiences of worry and the broader psychological impact of the British nuclear weapons testing programme. The Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (Short-Form) was com-pleted by 89 British nuclear test veterans (33.7% met the criteria for clinically relevant anxiety). Nineteen veterans then participated in semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis of the data generated three themes. The first theme highlighted how worry was relevant only in a few cases (four) generally regarding their grandchildren’s health, but the guilt in those who perceive re-sponsibility for family health conditions also appeared to be a pertinent issue. The second theme highlighted the anger towards authorities resulting from perceived negligence and deception. The third theme highlighted the relevance of how certain life events across the life course in-fluence the potential psychological impact. This study suggests that guilt must be considered in (potentially) exposed individuals whose family members experience health conditions, which may exacerbate distress. It also suggests the importance that authorities ensure transparency when dealing with any radiological exposure scenario to reduce the potential for anger. | en_GB |
dc.description.sponsorship | Nuclear Community Charity Fund (NCCF) | en_GB |
dc.description.sponsorship | Brunel University | en_GB |
dc.identifier.citation | Vol. 18 (22), article 12188 | en_GB |
dc.identifier.doi | 10.3390/ijerph182212188 | |
dc.identifier.grantnumber | AVF16 | en_GB |
dc.identifier.grantnumber | 10790100 | en_GB |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10871/127998 | |
dc.identifier | ORCID: 0000-0002-5064-8601 (Young, William) | |
dc.language.iso | en | en_GB |
dc.publisher | MDPI | en_GB |
dc.rights | © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). | en_GB |
dc.subject | radiation | en_GB |
dc.subject | anxiety | en_GB |
dc.subject | worry | en_GB |
dc.subject | British nuclear test veterans | en_GB |
dc.subject | GAI-SF | en_GB |
dc.subject | qualitative | en_GB |
dc.subject | exposure | en_GB |
dc.subject | mental health | en_GB |
dc.subject | guilt | en_GB |
dc.title | Exposure Worry: The Psychological Impact of Perceived Ionizing Radiation Exposure in British Nuclear Test Veterans | en_GB |
dc.type | Article | en_GB |
dc.date.available | 2021-12-02T13:54:35Z | |
dc.identifier.issn | 1660-4601 | |
dc.description | This is the final version. Available on open access from MDPI via the DOI in this record | en_GB |
dc.description | Data Availability Statement: The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy reasons. | en_GB |
dc.identifier.journal | International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health | en_GB |
dc.relation.ispartof | International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health | |
dc.rights.uri | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ | en_GB |
dcterms.dateAccepted | 2021-11-17 | |
rioxxterms.version | VoR | en_GB |
rioxxterms.licenseref.startdate | 2021-11-20 | |
rioxxterms.type | Journal Article/Review | en_GB |
refterms.dateFCD | 2021-12-02T13:52:11Z | |
refterms.versionFCD | VoR | |
refterms.dateFOA | 2021-12-02T13:55:46Z | |
refterms.panel | C | en_GB |
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's licence is described as © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).