Nuclear attitudes and reactions: Associations with depression, drug use, and quality of life.

Investigated attitudes and amount of distress associated with the ever-present threat of nuclear war and the possibility of accidents at nuclear power plants. A nuclear attitudes questionnaire consisting of 15 items was administered to 211 19–24 yr old males and 511 20–24 yr old females who grew up in the nuclear age. The items were found to reflect 4 latent factors (Nuclear Concern, Nuclear Support, Fear of the Future, and Nuclear Denial), all of which in turn represent 2nd-order construct of nuclear anxiety. Females reported significantly more nuclear concern, less nuclear support, more fear of the future, and less nuclear denial than did males. In latent-variable models, nuclear anxiety was significantly associated with less purpose in life, less life satisfaction, more powerlessness, more depression, and more drug use. It is concluded that the threat of nuclear war and accidents is significantly related to psychological distress and may disturb normal maturational development. (63 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)