Long-term psychological consequences among adolescent survivors of the Wenchuan earthquake in China: A cross-sectional survey six years after the disaster.
J Affect Disord
; 204: 255-61, 2016 Nov 01.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-27544312
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Most epidemiological studies on adolescent survivors' mental health have been conducted within 2 years after the disaster. Longer-term psychological consequences remain unclear. This study explored psychological symptoms in secondary school students who were living in Sichuan province 6 years after the Wenchuan earthquake.METHODS:
A secondary data analysis was performed on data from a final survey of survivors conducted 6 years after the Wenchuan earthquake as part of the five-year mental health and psychosocial support project. A total of 2641 participants were divided into three groups, according to the level of traumatic experience exposure during the earthquake (0, 1, and 2 or more). ANCOVA was used to compare the mean scores of the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90) among the three groups, adjusting for covariates such as age, gender, ethnicity, having a sibling, parents' divorce, and socio-economic status. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify relationships between the traumatic experiences and suicidality after the disaster.RESULTS:
Having two or more kinds of traumatic experiences was associated with higher psychological symptom scores on the SCL-90 (Cohen's d=0.23-0.33) and suicidal ideation (OR 1.98, 95% CIs1.35-2.89) and attempts (OR 3.32, 95% CIs1.65-6.68), as compared with having no traumatic experience.LIMITATIONS:
Causality cannot be inferred from this cross-sectional survey, and results may not generalize to other populations due to convenience sampling.CONCLUSIONS:
Severely traumatized adolescent survivors of the earthquake may suffer from psychological symptoms even 6 years after the disaster. Long-term psychological support will be needed for these individuals.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Transtornos de Estresse Pós-Traumáticos
/
Sobreviventes
/
Desastres
/
Terremotos
Tipo de estudo:
Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Qualitative_research
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
País/Região como assunto:
Asia
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Affect Disord
Ano de publicação:
2016
Tipo de documento:
Article