title: The relationship between posttraumatic stress symptoms and suicide ideation among child survivors following the Wenchuan earthquake.
abstract: The association between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and suicide ideation was examined in a sample of 2,298 child survivors of the Wenchuan earthquake. Results indicated that intrusion, avoidance, hyperarousal symptom clusters, and PTSD total score were significantly associated with suicide ideation. Except for intrusion, other measures of PTSD remained as statistically significant correlates of suicide ideation even after controlling for age, gender, direct exposure, indirect exposure, and depression. Furthermore, results showed that PTSD symptoms had an indirect influence on suicide ideation that was mediated by depression. The findings suggest that avoidance and hyperarousal symptom clusters of PTSD may be two important indicators of suicide ideation among child survivors of the Wenchuan earthquake. Implications of the results for intervention and prevention of suicide behavior are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Zhejiang, China; Institute of Developmental Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Liuhua
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ying
authors.forename: Chuansheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Chongde
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Greenberger
authors.forename: Xinchun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Lina
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jiang
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D055866:Earthquakes / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D059020:Suicidal Ideation; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data