Stress symptoms of survivors of the Marmara Region (Turkey) earthquakes : a follow-up study / Ibrahim Kisac

This study examined stress-related symptomatology of people in Turkey 1 year after 2 recent earthquakes and compared their symptoms with those at the time of the earthquakes. The survey, using the Symptom Check-List-90-Revised (SCL-90-R; L. R. Derogatis, 1977), enlisted 223 respondents in its 1st administration and 342 in its 2nd, 1 year later. These earthquake survivors had elevated levels on all subscales of the SCL-90-R but lower levels of stress symptoms in the 2nd administration with respect to anxiety, phobic anxiety, and psychotic symptoms. In contrast, there were no significant differences across administrations in measures of obsessive-compulsive behaviors, depression, anger, or paranoid thoughts. Higher overall levels of symptoms were found in women, those with lowest education levels, and those who had experienced loss of relatives.

Psychology.