title: Does a non-destructive earthquake cause posttraumatic stress disorder? A cross-sectional study.
abstract: This study evaluated the prevalence and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among adolescents who experienced non-destructive, moderate magnitude earthquake. Four hundred and fifty students (214 girls and 236 boys between the ages of 12-14) were selected from secondary schools located within Konya province in Turkey, 6 months after the earthquake. They were chosen to participate in this cross-sectional study by simple random sampling. The students were evaluated by the child posttraumatic stress reaction index. Of all the students, we found that 3.5% had very severe, 20.8% had severe, 28.4% had moderate and 20% had mild symptoms of PTSD and that 24.3% had probable PTSD diagnoses. The most common PTSD symptoms were trauma-related fears, social avoidance, emotional detachment and the concentration difficulty. Limitations and implications for research studies are included in the discussion.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical Faculty of Gaziantep University, Gaziantep, Turkey. drcem78@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Cem
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gökçen
authors.forename: Mine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sahingöz
authors.forename: Bilge Burçak
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Annagür
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004190:Disasters; D055866:Earthquakes; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D057566:Self Report; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology