Stress symptoms of survivors of the Marmara region (Turkey) earthquakes: A follow-up study.

Abstract

This study examined stress-related symptomatology of people in Turkey 1 year after 2 recent earthquakes and compared their symptoms with those at the time of the earthquakes. The survey, using the Symptom Check-List-90 -Revised (SCL-90 -R;L. R. Derogatis, 1977), enlisted 223 respondents in its 1st administration and 342 in its 2nd, 1 year later. These earthquake survivors had elevated levels on all subscales of the SCL-90 -R but lower levels of stress symptoms in the 2nd administration with respect to anxiety, phobic anxiety, and psychotic symptoms. In contrast, there were no significant differences across administrations in measures of obsessive-compulsive behaviors, depression, anger, or paranoid thoughts. Higher overall levels of symptoms were found in women, those with lowest education levels, and those who had experienced loss of relatives.

Depressive Symptoms in Bereaved Parents in the 2008 Wenchuan, China Earthquake: A Cohort Study

“…In both waves, compared to individuals with more education years, individuals with fewer education years were more likely to develop depressive symptoms, and their depressive symptoms were more severe. This finding is consistent with and also extends findings of prior earthquake‐related literature (Başolu et al, ; Kılıç & Ulusoy, ; Kisac, ), which suggests that low education was a relatively unchanged risk factor for depressive symptoms. Furthermore, differences in the extent of housing collapse and damage of other property had no significant association with severity of depressive symptoms.…”

“…Longitudinally, rates of probable depression in bereaved and nonbereaved parents in this sample fell by nearly 20%. This is consistent with some previous reports (O'Donnell et al, 2004;Udomratn, 2009), but inconsistent with other scholars' findings (Kisac, 2006;Norris, et al, 2007;Watanabe et al, 2004). The decrease of probable depressive rates may be explained by social support.…”

“…Prior disaster literature has shown consistent findings of low education conferring a risk for depressive symptoms following earthquakes (Başolu, Ş alciolu, & Livanou, 2002;Kılıç & Ulusoy, 2003;Kisac, 2006). With regard to gender, inconsistent findings were reported such that some literature found compared to male survivors, female survivors showed a higher risk for developing depressive symptoms (Armenian et al, 2002;Sattler et al, 2006;Susan & Jannay, 1991), whereas other studies suggested no gender differences in depressive reactions (Acierno et al, 2007;Martinson, et al, 1991).…”

“…Additionally, the course of depressive symptoms of adult earthquake survivors is also unclear. Some reported that adult survivors' depressive symptoms remained unchanged over time (Kisac, ; Norris et al, ; Watanabe, Okumura, Chiu, & Wakai, ), whereas others observed consistent reductions in symptoms (O'Donnell, Creamer, & Pattison, ; Udomratn, ) or stable symptoms followed by a period of symptom reduction (Ohta et al, ). Whether bereaved parents show similar patterns of depression as nonbereaved survivors of earthquakes is unknown and warrants further study.…”

Investigation of Some Variables of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Empathy and Depression in Syrian Children

“…Many people develop acute stress responses such as arousal, anxiety, sadness, grief, irritability, and sleep disturbances immediately after they have been exposed to a life-threatening traumatic event. Although these symptoms disappear over time, some individuals may develop a more permanent series of psychological symptoms [2]. The most common psychological disorder after trauma is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) [3].…”