The study examines whether widow/widower status, educational level and family income influence post-tsunami trauma of survivors. The data were collected 14 months after the tsunami from 416 adult survivors in nine semi-urban habitations of Nagapattinam district in the state of Tamilnadu (India). Post-tsunami trauma was assessed using inventories of post-traumatic stress, depression, negative and positive affectivity, physical health symptoms and anxiety. Post-tsunami trauma of survivors has increased with increasing age, female gender and more exposure. Controlling the confounding effects of age, gender, and exposure; widow/widower status, illiteracy and lower family income are found to intensify trauma and are the risk factors for post-tsunami morbidity. Only illiterates do not report more physical health symptoms than literates, and lower family income neither heightens depression and negative affectivity nor lessens positive affectivity.
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