The Dose of Exposure and Prevalence Rates of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in a Sample of Turkish Children Eleven Months After the 1999 Marmara Earthquakes
Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online February, 2005
The Dose of Exposure and Prevalence Rates of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in a Sample of Turkish Children Eleven Months After the 1999 Marmara Earthquakes
Since Turkey is a centrally prime earthquake zone, Turkey’s children are at risk for developing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) caused by earthquake exposures and threats of anticipated earthquakes. Given the gaps in the literature and the risk to children living in Turkey, the present study was undertaken to investigate the severity and prevalence of PTSD in 4th and 5th grade Turkish children after the notorious 1999 earthquakes in the city of Sakarya. Data were collected in May 2000. The research focus was to compare results between high-impact trauma and low-impact trauma groups according to percentage, severity and the frequency of PTSD diagnosis. Group means were compared for mild, moderate, severe and very severe categories of PTSD diagnosis. High and low impact groups were not significantly different in any category; the number of children who met the PTSD requirement was almost the same in both groups in number and severity.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
American Psychiatric Association (2000). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edn, revised. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association .
2.
Bahrick, L. , Parker, N. , Fivush, K. and Levit, F. (1998) ‘The Effects of Stress on Young Children’s Memory for a Natural Disaster’ , Journal of Experimental Psychology4: 308-331 .
3.
Boney-McCoy, S. and Finkelhor, D. (1995) ‘Psychological Squeala of Violent Victimization in a National Youth Sample’ , Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology63: 726-736 .
4.
Breslau, N. and Brenner, M. H. (1987) Mental Illness and the Economy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press .
5.
Bryce, J. W. , Walker, N. and Peterson, C. (1989) ‘Predicting Symptoms of Depression Among Women in Beirut: The Importance of Daily Life’ , International Journal of Mental Health18: 57-70 .
6.
Bulut, S. (2003) ‘Underlying Dimensions and Prevalence of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder among 4th and 5th Grade Children Who Experienced The 1999 Turkish Earthquakes’, unpublished doctoral dissertation, Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma.
7.
Bulut, S. (2004) ‘Factor Structure of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Children Experienced Natural Disaster . Psychologia47(3): 158-168 .
8.
Bulut, S. and Bulut, S. (2004) ‘Quick Trauma Assessment With Sefa Bulut Children - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Screening Survey: After a Natural Disaster in Different Groups in Two Different Countries’ , Tohoku Psychologica Folia62: 13-23 .
9.
Chimienti, G. , Nasr, J. A. and Khalifeh, I. (1989) ‘Children’s Reactions To War-Related Stress: Affective Symptoms and Behavior Problems’ , Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology24: 282-287 .
10.
Delamater, A. and Applegate, B. (2000) ‘Child Development and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder After Hurricane Exposure’ , Traumatology5 . Retrieved October 14, 2000, from http://fsu.edu/%7Etrauma/a3v5i3.htm
11.
Dyson, J. L. (1990) ‘The Effect of Family Violence on Children’s Academic Performance and Behavior’ , Journal of the National Medical Association82: 17-22 .
12.
Earls, F. , Smith, E. , Reich, W. and Jung, K. G. (1988) ‘Investigating Psycho-pathological Consequences of a Disaster in Children: A Pilot Study Incorporating a Structured Diagnostic Interview’ , Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry27: 90-95 .
13.
Fletcher, K. E. (1996) ‘Measuring School-Aged Children’s PTSD: Preliminary Psychometric of Four New Measures’ , paper presented at the 12th Annual Meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, San Francisco, CA.
14.
Foa, B. E. , Riggs, S. D. and Gershuny, B. S. (1995) ‘Arousal, Numbing, and Intrusion: Symptom Structure of PTSD Following Assault’ , Journal of American Academy Psychiatry152: 116-120 .
15.
Frederick, C. J. (1985) ‘Children Traumatized by Catastrophic Situations’, in S. EthandR. Pynoss (ed.) Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Children. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press .
16.
Garbarino, J. and Kostenly, K. (1996) ‘The Effects of Political Violence on Palestinian Children’s Behavior Problems: A Risk Accumulation Model’ , Child Development67: 33-45 .
17.
Garrison, C. Z. , Bryant, E. , Addy, C. L. , Spurrier, P. G. , Freedy, J. R. and Kilpatrick, D. (1995) ‘Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Adolescents After Hurricane Andrew’ , Journal of American Child and Adolescent Psychiatry34: 1193-1201 .
18.
Garrison, C. Z. , Weinrich, M. W. , Hardin, S. B. , Weinrich, S. and Wang, L. (1993) ‘Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Adolescents After a Hurricane’ , American Journal of Epidemiology3: 522-530 .
19.
Gay, L. R. (1996) Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 5th edn.New Jersey: Prentice Hall Press .
20.
Goenjian, A. K. , Karayan, I. , Pynoos, R. S. , Minassian, D. , Najarian, L. , Steinberg, A. M , et al. (1997) ‘Outcome of Psychotherapy Among Early Adolescents After Trauma’ , American Journal of Psychiatry144: 536-542 .
21.
Goenjian, A. K , Pynoos, R., S. , Steinberg, A. M. , Najarian, L. M. , Asarnow, J. R. , Karayan, I. , et al. (1995) ‘Psychiatric Co-Morbidity in Children After the 1988 Earthquake in Armenia’ , Journal of American Child and Adolescence Psychiatry34: 1174-1184 .
22.
Goenjian, A. K. , Steinberg, A. M. , Najarian, L. M. , Fairbanks, L. A. , Tashjian, M. and Pynoos, R. S. (2000) ‘Prospective Study of Posttraumatic Stress, Anxiety, and Depressive Reactions After Earthquake and Political Violence’ , American Journal of Psychiatry157: 911-916 .
23.
Green, B. L. , Korol, M. , Grace, M. C. , Vary, M. G. , Leonard, B. A. , Gleser, C. G. , et al. (1991) ‘Children and Disaster: Age, Gender, and Parental Effects on PTSD Symptoms’ , Journal of American Academy of Child Psychiatry32: 945-951 .
24.
Hamada, R. , Kameoka, B. J. and Yanagida, F. (in press) The Kauai Recovery Index (KRI). University of Hawaii, Department of Psychology .
25.
Hoffman, M. A. , Levy-Shiff, R. , Soholberg, S. C. and Zarizki, J. (1992) ‘The Impact of Stress and Coping: Developmental changes in the Transition to Adolescence’ , Journal of Youth and Adolescence27: 39-45 .
26.
Keane, M. T. , Kolb, D. G. , Blanchard, E. B. , Thomas, R. G. and Hsieh, Y. F. (1988) ‘Measurement of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder’ , Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology66: 914-923 .
27.
Lonigan, C. J. , Anthony, J. L. and Shannon, M. P. (1998) ‘Diagnostic Efficacy of Posttraumatic Symptoms in Children Exposed to Disasters’ , Journal of Clinical Child Psychology27: 255-267 .
28.
Magritte, R. (November, 2000) Trauma Symptoms. Retrieved October 14, 2000, from http://trauma-pages.com/pg2.htm
29.
McFarlane, A. C. , Policansky, S. and Irwin, C. (1987) ‘A Longitudinal Study of the psychological Morbidity in Children Due to a Natural Disaster’ , Psychological Medicine17: 727-738 .
30.
McMillen, J. C. , North, C. S. and Smith, E. M. (2000) ‘What Parts of PTSD are Normal: Intrusion, Avoidance, or Arousal? Data from the Northbridge, California Earthquake’ , Journal of Traumatic Stress13: 57-75 .
31.
McNally, R. J. (1991) ‘Assessment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Children’ , Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology3: 531-537 .
32.
Milne, G. (1977) ‘Cyclone Tracy: I. Some Consequences of the Evacuation For Adult Victims’ , Australian Psychologist12: 39-55 .
33.
Pynoos, R. S. and Eth, S. (1985) Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Children. The Progress in Psychiatry Series. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, Inc.
34.
Pynoos, R. S. , Frederick, C. J. , Nader, K. , Arroyo, W. , Steinberg, S. , Eth, S. , et al. (1987) ‘Life Threat and Post-Traumatic Stress in School-Age Children’ . Archives of General Psychiatry44: 1057-1063 .
35.
Pynoos, R. S. , Goenjian, A. K. , Tashjian, M. , Karakashian, M. , Manjikian, R. , Manoukian, G. , et al. (1993) ‘Posttraumatic Stress Reactions in Children After The 1988 Armenian Earthquake’ , British Journal of Psychiatry163: 239-247 .
36.
Ross, R. J. , Ball, W. A. , Sullivan, K. A. and Caroff, S. N. (1989) ‘Sleep Disturbance as the Hallmark of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder’ , American Journal of Psychiatry146: 697-707 .
37.
Rustemli, A. and Karanci, A. N. (1996) ‘Distress Reactions and Earthquake-Related Cognitions of Parents and Their Adolescent Children in a Victimized Population’ , .Journal of Social Behavior and Personality11: 767-780 .
38.
Saigh P. A. (1989) ‘The Development and Validation of the Children’s Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Inventory’ , International Journal of Special Education4: 75-84 .
39.
Shannon, M. P. , Christopher, P. D. , Lonigan, J. , Finch, A. J. Jr. and Taylor, C. M. (1994) ‘Children Exposed to Disaster: Epidemiology of Post-Traumatic Symptoms and Symptom Profile’ , Journal of American Child and Adolescent Psychiatry33: 80-93 .
40.
Shaw, A. J. , Applegate, B. , Tanner, S. , Perez, D. , Roth, E. , Campo-Bowen, A. , et al. (1995) ‘Psychological Effects of Hurricane Andrew on an Elementary School Population’ , Journal of American Child and Adolescent Psychiatry34: 1185-1192 .
41.
Terr, L. C. (1979) ‘Children of Chowchilla: A Study of Psychic Trauma’ , The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child34: 547-623 .
42.
Terr, L. C. (1981) ‘Psychic Trauma in Children: Observation Following the Chowchilla School-Bus Kidnapping’ , American Journal of Psychiatry138: 14-19 .
43.
Titchener, J. , Kapp, M. B. and Frederick, C. J. (1991) ‘Family Character Change at Buffalo Creek’ , American Journal of Psychiatry133: 295-299 .
44.
van der Kolk, B. A. , Pelcovitz, D. , Roth, S. , Mandel, F. S. and McFarlane, A. (1996a) ‘Dissociation, Somatization, and effect Dysregulation: The Complex Adaptation to Trauma’ , American Journal of Psychiatry153: 83-93 .
45.
van der Kolk, B. A. , Weisaeth, L. and van der Hart, O. (1996b) ‘History of Trauma in Psychiatry’, in B. A. van der Kolk , A. C. McFarlane and L. Weisaeth (eds) Traumatic Stress. The effects of Overwhelming Experience on Mind, Body, and Society. New York: Guilford Press .
46.
Wander, K.E. (1985) ‘Identifying Potential Suicides Among High-Risk Women’ , Social Work30: 511-517 .
47.
Wang, X. , Gao, L. , Shinfuktu, N. , Zhang, H. and Shen, Y. (2000) ‘Longitudinal Study of Earthquake-Related PTSD in Randomly Selected Community Sample in North China’ , American Journal of Psychiatry157: 1260-1266 .
48.
Weathers, F. J. (1998) The PTSD Checklist for Children/Parent Report: PLC CIPR. White Rivers Junction, VT: National Center for PTSD .
49.
Yule, W. (1992) ‘Posttraumatic Stress Disorder In reply to: Child Survivors of Shipping Disasters: The Sinking of the “Jupiter”’ , Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics5: 18-23 .
50.
Yule, W. and Udwin, O. (1991) ‘Screening Child Survivors of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders: Experience from the “Jupiter” Sinking’ , British Journal of Clinical Psychology30: 131-138 .
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
