Psychological consequences and associated risk factors among adult survivors of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake.
BACKGROUND
In 2008, a devastating earthquake measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale struck Wenchuan, China. Following this disaster, several studies were conducted which assessed the degree of mental disorders in the affected population, but very few considered that several disorders may occur at the same time. This paper aims to investigate the psychological effects and risk factors among adult survivors one-year after the earthquake event.


METHODS
2080 adult earthquake survivors from 19 counties in the affected areas were interviewed. A stratified sampling strategy was used to collect the information. Earthquake survivors completed self-report questionnaires, which included a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) checklist, a self-rating depression scale and a self-rating anxiety scale.


RESULTS
Fifty nine percent of the participants were male. The prevalence of probable PTSD in the sample was 40.1% (based on the DSM-IV criteria). Significant differences in the demographic variables were found in the levels of anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Anxiety levels were found to be positively correlated with depression (r = 0.438, p < 0.01) and PTSD (r = 0.322, p < 0.01). Risk factors for each symptom were also identified. Being female, having a low income level and having a low perceived level of social support were found to be the risk factors associated with anxiety, depression, and PTSD. There appeared to be no obvious relationship between the distance from the epicenter of the earthquake event and the severity of the psychological problems.


CONCLUSIONS
PTSD, anxiety, and depression were prevalent among the survivors. Most findings on the predictors were found to be consistent with current research. Positive adjustment and social support were found to be needed for the highest-risk population.
Zhibin
Z
Wu
Uncertainty Decision-making Laboratory, Sichuan University, 610064 Chengdu, China. xujiuping@scu.edu.cn.
Jiuping
J
Xu
Lili
L
He
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D057189:Checklist; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology*; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D004190:Disasters; D055866:Earthquakes; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012944:Social Support; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult