Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T07:12:07.436Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Post-traumatic stress reactions of children and adolescents exposed to the Athens 1999 earthquake

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

Ioanna Giannopoulou ,
Marios Strouthos ,
Patrick Smith ,
Anastasia Dikaiakou ,
Vasiliki Galanopoulou  and
William Yule
Ioanna Giannopoulou*
Affiliation:
NHS Community Mental Health Centre of Peristeri, Ploutonos and Ifaistou, 121 35Athens, Greece
Marios Strouthos
Affiliation:
NHS Community Mental Health Centre of Halandri, Zalongou 6, 153 43Athens, Greece
Patrick Smith
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF, UK
Anastasia Dikaiakou
Affiliation:
NHS Community Mental Health Centre of Peristeri, Ploutonos and Ifaistou, 121 35Athens, Greece
Vasiliki Galanopoulou
Affiliation:
NHS Community Mental Health Centre of Peristeri, Ploutonos and Ifaistou, 121 35Athens, Greece
William Yule
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF, UK
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (I. Giannopoulou).
Get access

Abstract

This study was undertaken 6–7 months after the 1999 Athens earthquake with the aim of exploring the differences in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression symptoms between a group of children exposed to earthquake with a group of children not exposed to it, but with both groups potentially exposed to the same levels of post-earthquake adversities. The study included 2037 children, aged 9–17 years, who were assessed with self-completed questionnaires. The directly exposed group (N = 1752) had significantly higher anxiety and PTSD scores than the indirectly exposed group (N = 284), but no significant group differences were found in depression scores. Girls in both groups reported significantly more PTSD, anxiety and depressive symptoms than boys. Younger children reported significantly more PTSD and anxiety symptoms than the older ones. No significant interactions were found between direct exposure to earthquake, age group and gender. The severity of PTSD symptoms was most strongly predicted by greater perceived threat during the earthquake, whereas depression was most strongly predicted by the level of post-earthquake adversity. The severity of anxiety symptoms was most strongly predicted by female gender. These findings are discussed in relation to the need for screening and intervention following earthquake events.

Keywords

PTSDChildrenAdolescentsAnxietyDepressionEarthquake
Type
Original articles
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 21 , Issue 3 , April 2006 , pp. 160 - 166
Copyright
Copyright © European Psychiatric Association 2006

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Asarnow, J., Glynn, S., Pynoos, R.S., Nahum, J., Guthrie, D., Cantwell, D.P.et al. When the earth stops shaking: earthquake sequelae among children diagnosed for pre-earthquake psychopathology. J Am Acad Child Adol Psychiatry 1999;38:1016–1023.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Birleson, P.The validity of depressive disorder in childhood and the development of self-rating scale. J. Child Psychol. Psychiatry 1981;22:73–88.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bradburn, S.I.After the earth shook: Children’s stress symptoms 6–8 months after a disaster. Advan Beh Res Therapy 1991;13:173–179.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dyregrov, A, Yule, W., Screening measures: the development of the UNICEFF screening battery. Paper presented at the 4th European Conference on Traumatic Stress May 1995, Paris.Google Scholar
Giannopoulou, I, Dikaikou, A. (2001) Cognitive-behavioural therapy with children presenting with post-traumatic stress disorder symptomatology following Athens earthquake—an open trial. 2001. Paper presented at the 31st Congress of the European Association for Behaviour and Cognitive Therapy September 2001, Istanbul.Google Scholar
Goenjian, A.K., Pynoos, R.S., Steinberg, A.M., Najarian, L.M., Asarnow, J.R., Karayan, I.et al. Psychiatric comorbidity in children after the 1988 earthquake in Armenia. J Am Acad Child Adol Psychiatry 1995;34:1174–1184.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Groome, D., Soureti, A.Post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety symptoms in children exposed to the 1999 Greek earthquake. Br. J. Psychol. 2004;95:387–397.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Horowitz, M.J., Wilner, N., Alvarez, W.Impact of event scale: a measure of subjective stress. Psychosom. Med. 1979;41:209–218.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hsu, C.C., Chong, M.Y., Yang, P., Yen, C.F.Posttraumatic stress disorder among adolescent earthquake victims in Taiwan. J Am Acad Child Adol Psychiatry 2002;41:875–881.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kovacs, M.The Children Depresssion Inventory (CDI). Psychopharmac Bull 1985;21:995–998.Google Scholar
Lonigan, C.J., Shannon, M.P., Taylor, C.M., Finch, A.J., Sallee, F.R.Children exposed to disaster, II: risk factors for the development of post-traumatic symptomatology. J Am Acad Child Adol Psychiatry 1994;33:94–105.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McFarlane, A.C., Policansky, S., Irwin, C.P.A longitudinal study of the psychological morbidity in children due to a natural disaster. Psychol. Med. 1987;17:727–738.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Najarian, L.M., Goenjian, A.K., Pelkovitz, D., Mandel, F., Najarian, B.Relocation after a disaster: posttraumatic stress disorder in Armenia after the earthquake. J Am Acad Child Adol Psychiatry 1996;35:374–383.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Organization of Antiseismic Planning and Protection Activities report 1999–2001. Greek Ministry of Environment and Public Works; 2001.Google Scholar
Pynoos, R.S., Goenjian, A.K., Karakshian, M., Tashjian, M., Manjikian, R.ManoukianG, Steinberg AM, Fairbanks L. Post-traumatic stress reactions in children after the 1988 Armenian earthquake. Br. J. Psychiatry 1993;163:239–247.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schwartz, E.D., Kowalski, J.M.Malignant memories: PTSD in children and adults after a school shooting. J Am Acad Child Adol Psychiatry 1991;30:936–944 (1991).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, P., Perrin, S., Dyregrov, A., Yule, W.Principal components analysis of the impact of event scale with children in war. Pers Individ Diffrences 2003;34:315–322.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spence, S.H.A measure of anxiety symptoms among children. Beh Res Therapy 1998;36:545–556.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vasa, R., Gerring, J.P., Grados, M., Slomine, B., Christensen, J.R., Rising, W.et al. Anxiety after severe pediatric closed head injury. J Am Acad Child Adol Psychiatry 2002;41:148–156.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weisz, J.R., Eastman, K.L.Cross-national research on child and adolescent psychopathology. Verhulst, F.C., Koot, H.M., The epidemiology of child and adolescent psychopathology Oxford: Oxford Medical Publications; 1995. 42–65.Google Scholar
Yule, W.Post-traumatic stress disorders. Rutter, M., Taylor, E., Child and adolescent psychiatry, 4th ed Oxford: Blackwell Science; 2002. 520–528.Google Scholar
Yule, W., ten Bruggencate, S., Joseph, S.A.Principal components analysis of the Impact of Event Scale in adolescents who survived a shipping disaster. Pers Individ Differences 1994;16:685–691.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yule, W., Udwin, O., Murdoch, K.The “Jupiter” sinking: effects on children’s fears, depression and anxiety. J. Child Psychol. Psychiatry 1990;31:1051–1061.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yule, W., Williams, R.Post-traumatic stress reaction in children. J. Trauma. Stress 1990;3:279–295.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.