Anger and disaster management

To the Editor

The study by Forbes et al. (2015) is important because it draws attention to the victim’s anger response in the course of disaster management. Data drawn from 1017 adult victims of bushfires across 25 communities was tested against three structural equation models. Anger and concurrent stressful life events were found to mediate mental health outcomes, most notably, the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The study did not control for financial compensation. That factor contaminates the mediation of outcomes at many levels (Lock et al., 2012). The authors correctly draw the conclusion that governments and communities should provide social and financial support for victims. However, the anger problem is equally a consequence of the failure of these agencies to provide appropriate disaster relief. They are far from shifting from being the problem to becoming the solution. In the interim, the authors suggest improving diagnostic screening and evidence-based cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for anger. The latter might reduce anger. The question is does it also reduce the assertiveness required to combat re-victimisation?