Buffalo Creek Survivors in the Second Decade: Comparison with Unexposed and Nonlitigant Groups1

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Abstract
This study investigated the second‐decade effects of the Buffalo Creek dam collapse and flood that occurred in West Virginia in 1972. One hundred twenty‐one survivors who had participated in an earlier lawsuit against the coal company that built the collapsed dam were compared to 78 nonlitigant survivors on self‐reported symptoms, clinical ratings, and diagnoses. A nonexposed sample from a geographically and culturally similar neighborhood was investigated as well. Findings showed no differences between the litigant and nonlitigant survivor groups. The survivor groups together showed higher rates of anxiety, depression, and hostility symptoms and diagnoses than the nonexposed sample. The findings were discussed in the context of the nature of the traumatic event, social and cultural influences on recovery, and the constellation of symptoms which differentiated the groups.