Valuing the mental health costs of coastal erosion
This research looks at how coastal erosion affects people’s mental health and identifies priorities for future research.
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Summary
This research explores how coastal erosion may affect people’s mental health in England and Wales. It identifies the evidence needed to consider these effects when making decisions about flood and coastal erosion risk management.
For the research we:
- carried out a focused literature review
- developed a conceptual framework to explain the links between coastal erosion and mental health
- identified and assessed available secondary data sets
- analysed secondary data to look at the relationship between coastal erosion risk and depression
The literature review found evidence that some people living with the risk of coastal erosion experience stress, anxiety and other wellbeing impacts. However, these findings cannot be generalised to wider populations.
The conceptual framework shows how concerns about losing homes, financial pressures, uncertainty about the future and changes to communities may contribute to stress, anxiety and other mental health effects.
The analysis of available national data sets found no measurable relationship between coastal erosion risk and new depression diagnoses. We could not assess anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder because suitable data were not available.
The research shows important evidence and data gaps. It identifies priorities for future research, including collecting information from affected communities and improving the evidence needed to assess mental health impacts in decision making.