@article{ref1,
title="Long-term psychological consequences among adolescent survivors of the Wenchuan earthquake in China: a cross-sectional survey six years after the disaster",
journal="Journal of affective disorders",
year="2016",
author="Tanaka, Eizaburo and Tsutsumi, Atsuro and Kawakami, Norito and Kameoka, Satomi and Kato, Hiroshi and You, Yongheng",
volume="204",
number="",
pages="255-261",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Most epidemiological studies on adolescent survivors' mental health have been conducted within 2 years after the disaster. Longer-term psychological consequences remain unclear. This study explored psychological symptoms in secondary school students who were living in Sichuan province 6 years after the Wenchuan earthquake. <br><br>METHODS: A secondary data analysis was performed on data from a final survey of survivors conducted 6 years after the Wenchuan earthquake as part of the five-year mental health and psychosocial support project. A total of 2641 participants were divided into three groups, according to the level of traumatic experience exposure during the earthquake (0, 1, and 2 or more). ANCOVA was used to compare the mean scores of the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90) among the three groups, adjusting for covariates such as age, gender, ethnicity, having a sibling, parents' divorce, and socio-economic status. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify relationships between the traumatic experiences and suicidality after the disaster. <br><br>RESULTS: Having two or more kinds of traumatic experiences was associated with higher psychological symptom scores on the SCL-90 (Cohen's d=0.23-0.33) and suicidal ideation (OR 1.98, 95% CIs:1.35-2.89) and attempts (OR 3.32, 95% CIs:1.65-6.68), as compared with having no traumatic experience. LIMITATIONS: Causality cannot be inferred from this cross-sectional survey, and results may not generalize to other populations due to convenience sampling. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Severely traumatized adolescent survivors of the earthquake may suffer from psychological symptoms even 6 years after the disaster. Long-term psychological support will be needed for these individuals.<br><br>Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0165-0327",
doi="10.1016/j.jad.2016.08.001",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2016.08.001"
}