A study of mental and physical reactions after the Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake: mental and physical conditions of female undergraduate students immediately after, 2 months after, and 9 months after the earthquake

Abstract

This study assessed how time brings out changes in one's mental and physical reactions to traumatic experiences. Two surveys were conducted on students of Kobe College, located at one of the areas hardest hit by the Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in January, 1995. Much of the traumatic reactions decreased in strength through January to March, while feelings of survival guilt did not. Guilt feelings of those whose housing were destroyed increased in March, and kept its level even in October. Although general health conditions of those surveyed in October was normal, several post-traumatic reactions increased in October as compared with March. The rate of recovery from post-traumatic reactions seemed to very according to the depth of one's psychological suffering, to one's financial situation, and to the presence of social support. The factor analysis on the items of mental and physical reactions yielded seven factors. The factor of highest eigenvalue in January was one named "anxiety about after-quake tremors", however, this was replaced by one named "emotional confusions" in March.