The long-term mental health sequelae (15 years) of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in the former Soviet Union (FSU) were assessed in survivors migrated to the United States, as part of an ongoing study. Using a retrospective, cross-sectional design with standardized Russian mental health measures, a sample of 261 Russians residing in the New York tristate area were tested for multiple domains of mental health functioning. Multivariate analyses pointed to aspects of the accident and its negative repercussions as reliable predictors of current psychological distress. Russians who had lived closer to the disaster, and had greater exposure to it, currently experience higher levels of anxiety (p < .0004) and posttraumatic reactions (p < .03) than those who had lived at a further distance. These findings are consistent with reports of long-term sequelae in Chernobyl survivors migrated to Israel (Remennick, 2002), as well as those remaining in the FSU (Havenaar et al., 1997). Implications of long-term traumatic sequelae, especially in the complex perimigration context, are discussed.

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anxiety rating scale depression immigrant social psychology Israel methodology Sampling Studies mental health human Survivors controlled study mental stress Time Factors USSR Anxiety Disorders disaster Cross-Sectional Studies mental disease United States Humans male female prediction outcomes research Multivariate Analysis prevalence mental function Article experience chernobyl accident Chernobyl Nuclear Accident Questionnaires major clinical study adult posttraumatic stress disorder distress syndrome Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic Emigration and Immigration retrospective study Russian Federation