Psychosocial implications of unconventional natural gas development: Quality of life in Ohio's Guernsey and Noble Counties

As unconventional natural gas development (UNGD) activities such as “fracking” have proliferated across the U.S., research has begun to examine their impacts on human life. Much scholarship has centered on possible health and environmental impacts. However, a range of plausible psychosocial impacts has begun to emerge. Utilizing grounded theory methods and data from qualitative interviews with residents of two counties in Appalachian Eastern Ohio (Guernsey and Noble), we examined the quality of life (QoL) impacts on residents, who live and work amid UNGD. QoL impacts were reported in five core categories, specifically psychological stress, social stress, environment, physical health, and traffic. Psychological stress was a particularly salient theme, as residents living near UNGD found themselves anxious about the uncertainties of fracking; frustrated by interactions with oil and gas industry officials; stressed about noise or light pollution; and, in some instances, facing the possibility of moving from the region.