Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Apr 29:14:126.
doi: 10.1186/1471-244X-14-126.

Psychological consequences and associated risk factors among adult survivors of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake

Zhibin Wu, Jiuping Xu  1 , Lili He
Affiliations

Psychological consequences and associated risk factors among adult survivors of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake

Zhibin Wu et al. BMC Psychiatry. .

Abstract

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.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Adams RE, Boscarino JA, Galea S. Social and psychological resources and health outcomes after the World Trade Center disaster. Soc Sci Med. 2006;62:176–188. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2005.05.008. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Norris FH, Friedman MJ, Watson PJ, Byrne CM, Diaz E, Kaniasty K. 60,000 disaster victims speak: Part I An empirical review of the empirical literature, 1981–2001. Psychiatry. 2002;65:207–239. - PubMed
    1. Updegraff JA, Silver RC, Holman EA. Searching for and finding meaning in collective trauma: results from a national longitudinal study of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2008;95:709–722. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Karanci AN, Rustemly A. Psychological consequences of the 1992 Erzincan (Turkey) earthquake. Disasters. 1995;19:8–18. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-7717.1995.tb00328.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Roberts YH, Mitchell MJ, Witman M, Taffaro C. Mental health symptoms in youth affected by Hurricane Katrina. Prof Psychol-Res Pr. 2010;41:10–18.

Publication types