The aim of this study was to explore the psychological consequences of two earthquakes in Iceland in two probability samples of subjects--residents in the exposed area and a control group from an unexposed area. The sample was composed of 52 adults exposed to the earthquakes and 29 adults in a control group. Three months after the earthquakes, both groups were approached with questions from a survey consisting of the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ), the Trauma Symptom Checklist (TSC), the Coping Styles Questionnaire (CSQ), the World Assumption Scale (WAS), and the Crisis Support Scale (CSS). The results revealed that 24% in the exposed group had Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and none in the control group had PTSD. Earthquake-related anxiety, inability to express one's thoughts and feelings, and emotional coping predicted 81% of the HTQ variance for both groups. Previous life events, low self-worth, and luck attributions, together with numbing and the feeling of being let down, predicted 56% of the symptom variance for both groups. When degree of traumatization and emotional coping were added to the model, another 30% of the variance could be explained.

BackgroundAlthough adolescence in many cases is a period of rebellion and experimentation with new behaviors and roles, the exposure of adolescents to life-threatening and violent events has rarely been investigated in national probability studies using a broad range of events.MethodsIn an Icelandic national representative sample of 206 9th-grade students (mean = 14.5 years), the prevalence of 20 potentially traumatic events and negative life events was reported, along with the psychological impact of these events.ResultsSeventy-four percent of the girls and 79 percent of the boys were exposed to at least one event. The most common events were the death of a family member, threat of violence, and traffic accidents. The estimated lifetime prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder-like states (PTSD; DSM-IV, APA, 1994 [1]) was 16 percent, whereas another 12 percent reached a sub-clinical level of PTSD-like states (missing the full diagnosis with one symptom). Following exposure, girls suffered from PTSD-like states almost twice as often as boys. Gender, mothers' education, and single-parenthood were associated with specific events. The odds ratios and 95% CI for PTSD-like states given a specific event are reported. Being exposed to multiple potentially traumatic events was associated with an increase in PTSD-like states.ConclusionThe findings indicate substantial mental health problems in adolescents that are associated with various types of potentially traumatic exposure.

The aim of the study was to explore the psychological consequences of two earthquakes in Iceland in two probability samples of children aged 10-15 years (67 exposed and 73 nonexposed). Three months after the earthquakes, children answered demographic questions, stressor questions, and completed the Child Posttraumatic Stress Reaction Index (CPTS-RI), the Trauma Symptom Checklist (TSC) and the Crisis Support Scale (CSS). Thirty-three percent of the exposed group and 6% of the control group fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for PTSD. Experiences of great horror during the earthquake and thoughts about future earthquakes explained 49% of the variance in PTSD. Wish for relocation, arousal, and avoidance symptoms predicted psychological distress, as measured by the TSC total score, explaining 65% of the variance. The exposed children reported more emotional support than controls immediately after the earthquake, but not at three months post earthquake. Exposed children who did not receive crisis intervention but reported that they would have wanted it had significantly more PTSD symptoms than all other groups, suggesting that all exposed children should be offered crisis intervention and receive continuous attention from adults even after a moderate disaster.

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