Nuclear anxiety, also known as nucleumitophobia, refers to anxiety or even a phobia in the face of a potential future nuclear holocaust, particularly during the Cold War and more recently the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
American anthropologist Margaret Mead viewed such anxiety in the 1960s as a violent Survivalism impulse that should instead be channeled toward a recognition of the need for peace. American psychologist Michael D. Newcomb and others defined "nuclear anxiety" in the 1980s post-détente period, Newcomb developing a Psychometrics to evaluate it with the Nuclear Attitudes Questionnaire (NAQ) in 1986, although mental effects had been at issue since the start of the Atomic Age.
The term originates from the Cold War period and has been defined as a "fear of nuclear war and of its consequences". It was particularly examined as an issue in child and adolescent psychiatry and much of the research on nuclear anxiety among youth was conducted in the 1980s in many countries. Due to the influence of the particular context under which studies were carried out, replicability is difficult if not impossible to verify. More recent studies regarding nuclear anxiety in the 21st century are relatively scarce.
Nuclear anxiety took a greater importance in the political landscape of the United States around the 1984 presidential elections. Two adolescents spoke to Congress of their fears of nuclear war in an event hosted by the United States House Select Committee on Children, Youth and Families on 20 September 1983. The American Orthopsychiatric Association led programmes around nuclear anxiety in children. In addition, Walter Mondale mentioned “nuclear nightmares” experienced by American youth in a speech given during his 1984 election campaign.
Adelson and Finn's Terrorizing Children caused controversy and was considered unscientific, as the author's criticism of the American Psychological Association's nuclear anxiety-related programmes, called it a “fifty-ring circus” led by “luminaries of the Left”, and questioned the credibility of researchers and journals that published evidence of nuclear anxiety among children.
It has also been argued that wealth, ethnicity and social class have a role in the cause of nuclear anxiety. This claim asserts that wealthy, white children of upper class are more susceptible to suffer from nuclear anxiety as they are exposed to fewer discriminatory or material concerns than children of colour and of lower social class.
Both arguments regarding fear-mongering and social conditioning were debated by other researchers who found no correlation between nuclear anxiety, political preferences and social class.
+Description of Newcomb's NAQ | ||
1 | Safety of nuclear power plants | |
2 | Concern over proliferation of nuclear weapons | |
3 | Concern over living near a nuclear power plant | |
4 | Necessity of producing the most nuclear weapons possible | |
5 | Cost efficiency of nuclear power plants | |
6 | Probability of nuclear war in next 10 years | |
7 | Link between nuclear power plants and nuclear weapons | |
8 | Provision of nuclear power plants to other countries by United States | |
9 | Fear of quantity of nuclear weapons in existence | |
10 | Probability of survival in nuclear war | |
11 | Never concerned about nuclear war | |
12 | Overreaction over threat of nuclear war | |
13 | Feelings of depression caused by threat of nuclear war | |
14 | Feelings of the world being unsafe due to nuclear weapons | |
15 | Reluctance to raise a child due to threat of nuclear war |
Some gender differences have been found with regards to these effects. A study has found that men were less inclined to report anxiety and more inclined to deny the threats of nuclear warfare than women, potentially due to machismo according to the author. Women also reported lower life satisfaction and men higher drug use.
Impacts on mental health also depend on the extent of worry about nuclear threats. While worry to the level of “concern” rarely leads to degradation of mental health, while worry to the level of “despair” has been found to have impacts on mental health that remain stable over time, but that subjects can live with.
Parental denial of the existence of a nuclear threat or of nuclear anxiety worsens its consequences.
Effects on mental health also depended on whether subjects participated in disarmament activism. Those who did, did not face
bigger anxiety-related issues lasting until at least mid-adulthood, while those who did reported no decrease in mental health.
Protests such as the nuclear freeze movement have also been shown to likely incite support for disarmament among those experiencing nuclear anxiety.
The participation of relatives, especially parents, in disarmament activism has been linked to higher participation of subjects and higher optimism.
Some nuclear anxiety workshops have found success at reducing nuclear anxiety and finding a meaning to life in the nuclear age, especially those practising logotherapy.
One study compiled coping mechanisms used to treat nuclear anxiety as follows:
+Nuclear Coping Strategies, Hamilton et al. ! !Coping mechanism | |
1 | Distraction |
2 | Situation redefinition |
3 | Direct action |
4 | Catharsis |
5 | Acceptance |
6 | Seeking social support |
7 | Relaxation |
8 | Religion |
On the other hand, denial or avoidance of emotional distress and of activism may prevent recovery.
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