This study investigated post-traumatic symptoms among survivors of the October 2005 earthquake in Pakistan. A total of 125 survivors who were admitted in different hospitals of Lahore city were interviewed using following measures: Detailed Assessment of Post-traumatic Stress (DAPS), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and Other Dimensions of Trauma (ODOT). Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were carried out on the data. The respondents showed significantly higher scores on all subscales of the DAPS and GHQ. Women showed significantly greater symptoms of stress both at the DAPS and GHQ. Signifi cantly greater number of people were coping by crying and requesting God to forgive their sins. On the basis of current findings, both short and long-term counselling strategies were suggested for psychological rehabilitation of the victims.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Basoglu, M. , Kilic, C. , Salcioglu, E. , & Livanou, M. (2004). Prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder and comorbid depression in earthquake survivors in Turkey: An epidemiological study . Journal of Trauma Stress, 17(2), 133–141 .
2.
BBC News. (2005). Quake crisis overwhelms Pakistan, 10 October. Available at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4324534.stm (accessed on 23 September 2006).
3.
Bichescu, D. , Schauer, M. , Saleptsi, E. , Neculau, A. , Elbert, T. , & Neuner, F. (2005). Long-term consequences of traumatic experiences: An assessment of former political detainees in Romania . Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health, 1, 1–17 . Available on http://www.cpementalhealth.com/content/1/1/17 accessed on 4 June 2008.
4.
Blank, A.S. (1993). The longitudinal course of posttraumatic stress disorder. In J.R.T. Davidson , & E.B. Foa , (Eds), Posttraumatic stress disorder: DSM-IV and beyond (p. 322). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press .
5.
Breslau, N. , Davis, G.C. , Peterson, E.L. , & Schultz, L.R. (2000). A second look at comorbidity in victims of trauma: The posttraumatic stress disorder-major depression connection . Biological Psychiatry, 48 (9), 902–909 .
6.
Briere, J. (2001). Detailed assessment of posttraumatic stress. Professional Manual. Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc.
7.
Briere, J. , & Elliott, D. (2000). Prevalence, characteristics, and long-term sequel of natural disaster exposure in the general population . Journal of Traumatic Stress, 13(4), 661–679 .
8.
Burger, L. , Van-Staden, F. , & Nieuwoudt, J. (1989). The Free State floods: A case study . South African Journal of Psychology, 19(4), 205–209 .
9.
Chang, K. (2006). Living with vulnerability and resiliency: The psychological experience of collective trauma . Paper presented at the International Conference on Earthquake 10/8: Social, Human and Gender Issues (15–17 January 2006), Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
10.
Desai, N.G. , Gupta, P.C. , Joshi, P.C. , Singh, R.A. , Lal, M. , & Kumar, A. (2002). Mental health service needs and service delivery models in the earthquake disaster affected population in Gujrat: A pilot study. New Delhi: Institute of Human Behavior and Allied Sciences .
11.
Ehlers, A. , Maayou, R.A. , & Bryant, B. (1998). Psychological predictors of chronic PTSD after motor vehicle accidents . Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 107(3), 508–519 .
12.
Foa, E.B. , Ehlers, A. , Clark, D.M. , Tolin, D.F. , & Orsillo, S.M. , (1999). The posttraumatic cognitions inventory (PTCI): Development and validation . Psychological Assessment, 11(3), 303–314 .
13.
Flamery, R.B. (1999). Treating family survivors of mass casualties: A CISM family crisis intervention approach . Mental Health, 1(4), 243–250 .
14.
Georgas, J. (2003). Family: Variations and changes across cultures. In W.J. Lonner , D.L. Dinnel , S.A. Hayes and D.N. Sattler , (Eds), Online Readings in Psychology and Culture (Unit 13, Chapter 3). Center for Cross-Cultural Research, Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington, USA . Available on http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~culture/georgea.htm, accessed on 15 May 2008.
15.
Goldberg, D. (1978). Manual of general health questionnaire. England: Nelson publisher .
16.
Hali, S.M. (2005). Disaster management? 19 October. The Nation.
17.
Harrison, J. (1995). Roles, identities, and sexual orientation: Homosexuality, heterosexuality, and bisexuality. In R.F. Levant , & W.S. Polack , (Eds), A new psychology of men (pp. 359–382). NY: Basic Books .
18.
Huerta, F. , & Horton, R. (1978). Coping behavior of elderly flood victims . The Gerontologist, 18(6), 541–546 .
19.
Jillani, M.S. (2005). The battle of 8 October , 13 October. The News.
20.
Joh, H. (1997). Disaster stress of the 1995 Kobe earthquake . Psychologia, 40(3), 192–200 .
21.
Kato, H. , Asukai, N. , Miyake, Y. , Minakawa, K. , & Nishiyama, A. (1996). Post traumatic symptoms among younger and elderly evacuees in the early stages following 1995 Hanshin-Awaji earthquake in Japan . Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 93(6), 477–481 .
22.
Kalayjin, A. , Kanazi, R.L. , Aberson, C.L. , & Feygin, L. , & Feygin, L. (2002). A cross-cultural study of psychosocial and spiritual impact of natural disaster . International Journal of Group Tensions, 31(2), 175–186 .
23.
Kuo, C.J. , Tang, H.S. , Tsay, C.J. , Lin, S.K. , Hu, W.H. , & Chen, C.C. (2003). Prevalence of psychiatric disorders among bereaved survivors of a disastrous earthquake in Taiwan . Psychiatric Services, 54(2), 249–251 .
24.
McFarlane, A.C. , & Hua, C. (1993). Study of a major disaster in the People’s Republic of China: The Yunnan earthquake. In J.P. Wilson & B. Raphael (Eds), International handbook of traumatic stress syndromes (pp. 493–498). NY: Plenum Press .
25.
McFarlane, A.C. , & Yehuda, R. (1996). Resilience, vulnerability, and the course of post-traumatic reactions. In B.A. van der Kolk , A.C. McFarlane , & L. Weisaeth (Eds), Traumatic stress. The effects of overwhelming experience of mind, body, and society (pp. 155–181). New York: Guilford Press .
26.
Montazeri, A. , Baradaran, H. , Omidvari. S. , Azin, S.A. , Garmaroudi, G. , Harirchi, A.M. , & Shariati, M. (2005). Psychological distress among Bam earthquake survivors in Iran: A population-based study [Electronic version]. BMC Public Health, 5, 4.
27.
Mumford, D.B. , Saeed, K. , Ahmad, I. , Latif, S. , & Mubbashar, M.H. (1997). Stress and psychiatric disorder in rural Punjab . British Journal of Psychiatry, 170(5), 473–478 .
28.
Nagyova, I. , Krol, B. , Szilasiova, A. , Stewart, R.E. , van Dijk, J.P. , & van den Heuvel, W.J.A. (2000). General health questionnaire-28: Psychometric evaluation of the Slovak version . Studia Psychologica, 42(4), 351–361 .
29.
Norris, F.H. (1992). Epidemiology of trauma: Frequency and impact of different potentially traumatic events on different demographic groups . Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 60(3), 409–418 .
30.
Norris, F.H. (2001). The range, magnitude, and duration of effects of natural and human-caused disasters: A review of the empirical literature. Avaialbale at http://www.tgorski.com/Terrorism/Psychological%20Consequences%20Natural%20vs.Human%20Disaster%20-%20NCPTSD%20Lit%20-Review.htm (accessed on 2 March 2007).
31.
Norris, F.H. (2005). Psychological consequences of natural disasters in developing countries: What does past research tell us about the potential effects of the 2004 Tsunami? Available at http://www.redmh.org/research-/specialized/tsunamisummary.pdf (accessed on 21 July 2007).
32.
Pynoos, R.S. , Goenjian, A. , Tashjian, M. , Karakashian, M. , Manjikian, R. , Manoukian, G. , Steinberg, A.M. , & Firbanks, L.A. (1993). Post-traumatic stress reactions in children after the 1988 Armenian earthquake . British Journal of Psychiatry, 163, 239–247 .
33.
Rack, P. (1982). Race, culture and mental disorder. London: Tavistock Publishers .
34.
Ronan, K.R. & Johnson, D.M. (1996). Volcanic eruptions and children: Assessment and school based intervention. Paper presented at the Pan Pacific 1996 Conference, Vancouver.
35.
Sanderman, R. , & Stewart, R. (1990). The assessment of psychological distress: Psychometric properties of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) . International Journal of Health Science, 1, 195–202 .
36.
Stein, M. , Walker, J. , Hazen, A. , & Forde, D. (1997). Full and partial posttraumatic stress disorder: Findings from a community survey . American Journal of Psychiatry, 154(8), 1114–1119 .
37.
Tolin, D.F. , & Foa, E.B. (2002). Gender and PTSD: A cognitive model. In R. Kimerling , P. Ouimette , & J. Wolfe (Eds), Gender and PTSD (pp. 76–97). NY: Guilford Press .
38.
UNHCR. (2007). Pakistan earthquake return update. Available at http://www.unhcr.org/cgiin/texis/vtx/news/opendoc.htm?tb1=NEWS&id=445b.1f274 (accessed at 2 January 2007).
39.
Yang, C.H. , Xirasagar, S. , Chung, H.C. , Huang, Y.T. , & Lin, H.C. (2005). Suicide trends following the Taiwan earthquake of 1999: Empirical evidence and policy implications . Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 112(6), 442–448 .
