The Northridge quake left two special psychological scars because it came in the early hours when people were at home and in bed, thus transforming those two refuges into places of lethal danger. Workers take interminable breaks, have difficulty concentrating and generally show low productivity. Families too have suffered. Unstable relationships can be pushed across the line into outright dysfunction. In some cases the Barrington team observed, one spouse became hypersexual and the other hyposexual, with obviously destabilizing consequences.
Adults frequently misdirect their anger toward spouses and children.
The woman had lost two other children in a quake in her native Guatemala. Experts give several reasons. It's layer upon layer. And what this does is magnify people's reactions. Women appear to take it harder than men.