Farm Family Coping with Stress: The Impact of the 1998 Ice Storm

This study looks at how farm families coped with the 1998 ice storm in Eastern Ontario, in particular stress and health impacts. It is based on a mail survey (N = 171) and follow-up qualitative interviews with households (N = 40). Beyond the severity of the event, finances were identified as a key factor in reported incidence of stress symptoms during the ice storm, related to uncertainties with insurance claims and arrangements with banks. Afterwards, off-farm was found to moderate ongoing stress. Although the social resources the farm community utilized in coping with the storm and its aftermath were identified as highly important by respondents, these did not act to differentially moderate the stress and health impacts. Instead, the findings suggest farm families addressed the financial implications of the ice storm at the household level, compounding existing stress-linked responses to chronic financial strain among farms in the region.