This study investigated the symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and associated risk factors among adult survivors 2 mo. after the Wenchuan earthquake in China. 228 survivors completed the Chinese version of the Impact of Event Scale–Revised. The prevalence of probable PTSD was 43%. The significant predictive factors for the severity of PTSD symptoms included being female, having lower educational level, being bereaved, and witnessing death. Findings of this study suggest that PTSD is a common mental health problem among earthquake survivors in China. Given inadequate knowledge and practices concerning the mental health of disaster victims in China, the information provided by this study is useful for directing, strengthening, and evaluating disaster-related mental health needs and interventions after earthquakes.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AciernoR.RuggieroK. J.GaleaS.ResnickH. S.KoenenK.RoitzschJ.de ArellanoMichael M.BoyleJ., & KilpatrickD. G. (2007) Psychological sequelae resulting from the 2004 Florida hurricanes: implications for postdisaster intervention. American Journal of Public Health, 97(Suppl. 1), S103–S108.
2.
American Psychiatric Association. (1994) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. (4th ed.) Washington, DC: Author.
3.
ChouF. H-C.WuH-C.ChouP.SuC-Y.TsaiK-Y.ChaoS-S.ChenM-C.SuT. T-P.SunW. J., & Ou-YangW-C. (2007) Epidemiologic psychiatric studies on post-disaster impact among Chi-Chi earthquake survivors in Yu-Chi, Taiwan. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 61, 370–378.
4.
CreamerM.BellR., & FaillaS. (2003) Psychometric properties of the Impact of Event Scale–Revised. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 41, 1489–1496.
5.
ElhaiJ. D.GrayM. J.KashdanT. B., & FranklinC. L. (2005) Which instruments are most commonly used to assess traumatic event exposure and posttraumatic effects? A survey of traumatic stress professionals. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 18, 541–545.
6.
FransÖ.RimmöP-A.ÅbergL., & FredriksonM. (2005) Trauma exposure and post-traumatic stress disorder in the general population. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 111, 291–299.
7.
HuangG.ZhangY., & XiangH. (2006) The Chinese version of the Impact of Event Scale–Revised: reliability and validity. Chinese Mental Health Journal, 20, 28–31. [in Chinese]
8.
KesslerR. C.SonnegaA.BrometE.HughesM., & NelsonC. B. (1995) Post-traumatic stress disorder in the National Comorbidity Survey. Archives of General Psychiatry, 52, 1048–1060.
9.
KumarM. S.MurhekarM. V.HutinY.SubramanianT.RamachandranV., & GupteM. D. (2007) Prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder in a coastal fishing village in Tamil Nadu, India, after the December 2004 tsunami. American Journal of Public Health, 97, 99–101.
10.
KuoC. J.TangH. S.TsayC. J.LinS. K.HuW. H., & ChenC. C. (2003) Prevalence of psychiatric disorders among bereaved survivors of a disastrous earthquake in Taiwan. Psychiatric Services, 54, 249–251.
11.
LaiT. J.ChangC. M.ConnorK. M.LeeL. C., & DavidsonJ. R. T. (2004) Full and partial PTSD among earthquake survivors in rural Taiwan. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 38, 313–322.
12.
LiuA.TanH.ZhouJ.LiS.YangT.WangJ.LiuJ.TangX.SunZ., & WenS. W. (2006) An epidemiologic study of posttraumatic stress disorder in food victims in Hunan China. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 51, 350–354.
13.
McMillenJ. C.NorthC. S., & SmithE. M. (2000) What parts of PTSD are normal: intrusion, avoidance, or arousal? Data from the Northridge, California earthquake. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 13, 57–75.
14.
OfrinR., & SalunkeS. R. (2006) Disaster preparedness in the South East Asia region. International Review of Psychiatry, 18, 495–500.
15.
UdomratnP. (2008) Mental health and the psychosocial consequences of natural disasters in Asia. International Review of Psychiatry, 20, 441–444.
16.
van GriensvenF.ChakkrabandM. L. S.ThienkruaW.PengjuntrW.CardozoB. L.TantipiwatanaskulP.MockP. A.EkassawinS.VarangratA.GotwayC.SabinM., & TapperoJ. W. (2006) Mental health problems among adults in tsunami-affected areas in southern Thailand. Journal of the American Medical Association, 296, 537–548.
17.
WangX.GaoL.ShinfukuN.ZhangH.ZhaoC., & ShenY. (2000) Longitudinal study of earthquake-related PTSD in a randomly selected community sample in north China. American Journal of Psychiatry, 157, 1260–1266.
18.
WeissD. S. (2007) The Impact of Event Scale: revised. In WilsonJ. P. & TangC. S. (Eds.), Cross-cultural assessment of psychological trauma and PTSD. New York: Springer. Pp. 219–238.
19.
WeissD. S., & MarmarC. R. (1997) The Impact of Event Scale–Revised. In WilsonJ. P. & KeaneT. M. (Eds.), Assessing psychological trauma and PTSD: a handbook for practitioners. New York: Guilford. Pp. 399–411.
20.
WuK. K., & ChanK. S. (2003) The development of the Chinese version of Impact of Event Scale–Revised (CIES–R). Social Psychiatry & Psychiatric Epidemiology, 38, 94–98.
