Does a non-destructive earthquake cause posttraumatic stress disorder? A cross-sectional study

• Published in: European child & adolescent psychiatry Vol. 22; no. 5; pp. 295 - 299
• Main Authors: Gokcen, Cem, Sahingoz, Mine, Annagur, Bilge Burcak
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01.05.2013; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adolescent; Child; Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; Cross-Sectional Studies; Disasters; Earthquakes; Female; Humans; Life Change Events; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Original Contribution; Post traumatic stress disorder; Posttraumatic stress disorder; Prevalence; Provinces; Psychiatry; Risk Factors; Secondary schools; Self Report; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - diagnosis; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - epidemiology; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - etiology; Students; Students - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Symptoms; Teenagers; Turkey - epidemiology; Turkey; Posttraumatic stress disorder; Non-destructive earthquake; Adolescent
• ISSN: 1018-8827; 1435-165X
• DOI: 10.1007/s00787-012-0348-8

This study evaluated the prevalence and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among adolescents who experienced non-destructive, moderate magnitude earthquake. Four hundred and fifty students (214 girls and 236 boys between the ages of 12–14) were selected from secondary schools located within Konya province in Turkey, 6 months after the earthquake. They were chosen to participate in this cross-sectional study by simple random sampling. The students were evaluated by the child posttraumatic stress reaction index. Of all the students, we found that 3.5 % had very severe, 20.8 % had severe, 28.4 % had moderate and 20 % had mild symptoms of PTSD and that 24.3 % had probable PTSD diagnoses. The most common PTSD symptoms were trauma-related fears, social avoidance, emotional detachment and the concentration difficulty. Limitations and implications for research studies are included in the discussion.