In some 43 studies, women or girls were found to be more adversely affected by disasters than were men or boys; the psychological effects were not only stronger among women, but longer lasting as well. Middle aged adults seemed most adversely affected in every study where they were differentiated from older and younger adults. Some studies suggest that middle-aged adults are most at-risk because they have greater stress and burdens before the disaster strikes and they assume even greater obligations afterwards. In disasters of smaller magnitude, prior experience with the specific type of event may actually reduce anxiety. People who have experienced previous similar disasters show higher levels of hazard preparedness.

     Socioeconomic status as manifest in education, income, literacy, occupational prestige, was found to affect outcomes significantly. In 91% of the studies in one group, lower SES was consistently associated with greater postdisaster distress. The effect of SES also was found to grow stronger as the severity of exposure increases.

     Children were highly sensitive to postdisaster distress and conflict in the family. When measured, parental psychopathology was typically the best predictor of child psychopathology; parents who were healthier, less irritable, and more supportive had healthier children.

     Regardless of the data collection methods, predisaster symptoms were almost always the best predictor of postdisaster symptoms. Persons with a predisaster psychiatric history were disproportionately likely to develop disaster-specific PTSD and to be diagnosed with some type of postdisaster disorder; and predisaster symptoms have been found to interact with severity of exposure (participants with preflood symptoms were more strongly affected by a flood than were participants with lower preflood symptoms.

     Having a "neurotic" personality as opposed to a stable and calm personality, increases the likelihood that an individual will experience postdisaster distress. "Hardiness" decreases the likelihood of postdisaster distress.

     The severity of exposure at the individual or household level is an important predictor of outcomes, including experiencing injury to oneself or another family member, bereavement during the disaster, experiencing panic, horror, a threat to your life or a similar emotion, extensive loss of property, etc. As the number of these stressors increase, the likelihood of psychological impairment increases. In general, injury and life threat were most predictive of long-term adverse consequences, especially PTSD.

     Other studies have also found certain genetic predisposition, family history, and biological factors including type of sleep or amount of sunlight can affect stress reaction, as can, of course, the number of events and type and severity of events we are exposed to.

     An adults risk, then, for psychological distress will increase as the number of the following factors increases:  female gender; age between 40 and 60 years old; little previous experience or training relevant to coping with disaster; ethnic minority; low socioeconomic status (manifest in education, income, literacy, occupational prestige, etc.); a previous psychiatric history; severity of exposure to the disaster, especially if injury, life threat, or extreme loss of property; and living in a highly disrupted or traumatized family or community.