title: PTSD symptoms among tsunami exposed mothers in Sri Lanka: the role of disaster exposure, culturally specific coping strategies, and recovery efforts.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Women in Sri Lanka have been uniquely exposed to a complex and protracted set of stressors stemming from a civil war conflict spanning over 25 years and the tsunami which struck Southeast Asia in 2004. This study investigates coping strategies and their association with trauma-related symptoms of tsunami-exposed mothers in Sri Lanka at two time points.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data for this study come from surveys administered in two waves of data collection to investigate both mothers' and adolescent children's post-tsunami mental health in early 2005, three months after the tsunami struck, and again in 2008, three years later.
  
  
  METHODS
  Latent-variable structural equation modeling was used to test the study hypotheses among 160 tsunami-affected mothers in the Polhena village, Matara district, Sri Lanka.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the various coping strategies examined, the use of cultural rituals as well as inner psychological strength was associated with lower levels of posttraumatic stress symptoms. In contrast, passive religious beliefs were associated with greater posttraumatic stress levels.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this study reveal the differential associations of various coping strategies including rituals used by mothers exposed to the tsunami in Sri Lanka and their posttraumatic stress symptom levels.
authors.affiliation: a California School of Professional Psychology , Alliant International University , Alhambra , CA , USA.
authors.forename: Thulitha
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wickrama
authors.affiliation: b Human Development and Family Science , University of Georgia at Athens, Athens , GA , USA.
authors.forename: K A S
authors.initials: KAS
authors.lastname: Wickrama
authors.affiliation: c Department of Psychology , Alliant International University , San Diego , CA , USA.
authors.forename: Alyssa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Banford
authors.affiliation: d Department of Psychology , California State University, Stanislaus , Turlock , CA , USA.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lambert
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D002562:Ceremonial Behavior; D003469:Culture; D064891:Disaster Victims / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004190:Disasters; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013188:Sri Lanka / Q000453:epidemiology; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D057192:Tsunamis
keywords: PTSD; Sri Lanka; Tsunami; coping; culture; religious