title: Predictors of psychological resilience amongst medical students following major earthquakes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify predictors of self-reported psychological resilience amongst medical students following major earthquakes in Canterbury in 2010 and 2011.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two hundred and fifty-three medical students from the Christchurch campus, University of Otago, were invited to participate in an electronic survey seven months following the most severe earthquake. Students completed the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale, the Post-traumatic Disorder Checklist, the Work and Adjustment Scale, and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. Likert scales and other questions were also used to assess a range of variables including demographic and historical variables (eg, self-rated resilience prior to the earthquakes), plus the impacts of the earthquakes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The response rate was 78%. Univariate analyses identified multiple variables that were significantly associated with higher resilience. Multiple linear regression analyses produced a fitted model that was able to explain 35% of the variance in resilience scores. The best predictors of higher resilience were: retrospectively-rated personality prior to the earthquakes (higher extroversion and lower neuroticism); higher self-rated resilience prior to the earthquakes; not being exposed to the most severe earthquake; and less psychological distress following the earthquakes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Psychological resilience amongst medical students following major earthquakes was able to be predicted to a moderate extent.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Medicine, PO Box 4345, Christchurch, New Zealand. frances.carter@otago.ac.nz.
authors.forename: Frances
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Carter
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.forename: Janice
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McKenzie
authors.forename: Joseph M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Boden
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wilkinson
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bell
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055866:Earthquakes; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009520:New Zealand; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D012307:Risk Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017741:Survivors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult