The effect of traumatic bereavement on tsunami-exposed survivors.
Fourteen months after the 2004 tsunami, mental health outcome was assessed in 187 bereaved relatives, 308 bereaved friends, and in 3,020 nonbereaved Swedish survivors. Of the bereaved relatives, 41% reported posttraumatic stress reactions and 62% reported impaired general mental health. Having been caught or chased by the tsunami in combination with bereavement was associated with increased posttraumatic stress reactions. Complicated grief reactions among relatives were almost as frequent as posttraumatic stress reactions. The highest levels of psychological distress were found among those who had lost children. Traumatic bereavement, in combination with exposure to life danger, is probably a risk factor for mental health sequelae after a natural disaster.
Johannesson
Kerstin Bergh
KB
National Center for Disaster Psychiatry, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden. kerstin.bergh.johannesson@neuro.uu.se
Lundin
Tom
T
Hultman
Christina M
CM
Lindam
Anna
A
Dyster-Aas
Johan
J
Arnberg
Filip
F
Michel
Per-Olof
PO
D000275:Adjustment Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001601:Bereavement; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004190:Disasters; D005260:Female; D006117:Grief; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D012307:Risk Factors; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013548:Sweden / Q000208:ethnology; D013785:Thailand; D014195:Travel; D057192:Tsunamis; D055815:Young Adult