Abstract
BackgroundThe goal of this study was to collect information to inform the design of a mental health response following the massive December 2004 earthquake and tsunami in Aceh and North Sumatra, Indonesia. As well as exploring the effect on mental health of direct exposure to the tsunami the study was designed to examine the effect on mental health of immediate post-disaster changes in life circumstances (impact).MethodsInformation was collected from a sample of 783 people aged 15 years and over in earthquake and tsunami-affected areas of Aceh and Nias, 616 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and 167 non-IDPs. The structured questionnaire that was designed for data collection consisted of demographic information, measures of disaster exposure and of changes in life circumstances (impact), the extended version of the Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ), and a brief measure of resilience. Group comparisons, contrasting responses of IDPs and non-IDPs, were by chi-square for frequency data and t-tests for ordinal or continuous data. Hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses were performed to examine the relative contributions to psychopathology of demographic variables and measures of exposure, impact and resilience.ResultsHigh rates of psychopathology, including symptoms of anxiety and affective disorders and post-traumatic stress syndrome, were recorded in the overall sample, particularly in Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who experienced more substantial post-disaster changes in life circumstances (impact). The IDP group experienced significantly more SRQ symptoms than did the non-IDP group. Demographic factors alone accounted for less two percent of variance in SRQ-scores. Higher SRQ-20 scores were observed among women, those with lower education, those with diminished resilience beliefs, those experiencing high scores on disaster impact, those experiencing direct exposures to the disaster, and due to (unmeasured) conditions related to being an IDP. The greatest effect among these was due to disaster impacts. The pattern was similar when considering post-traumatic stress symptoms separately.ConclusionsNegative changes in a person's life circumstances following a disaster appear to have as important an effect on psychopathology as the direct experience of the disaster. Ameliorating the extent and duration of post-disaster negative changes in life circumstances may play an important role in prevention of post-disaster psychological morbidity.
Highlights
The goal of this study was to collect information to inform the design of a mental health response following the massive December 2004 earthquake and tsunami in Aceh and North Sumatra, Indonesia
In the present work we explore the impact of postdisaster changes in life circumstances on psychopathology in addition to direct exposure experiences and other factors in the Indonesian communities of Aceh and Nias that experienced the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake and tsunami, with data collected at approximately two months following the event
The sample, people aged 15 years and above, consisted of two groups: Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), who were affected directly by the disaster, and who were living in IDP camps, living temporarily in local people's homes, or were in hospital, and non-IDPs, people who were living in areas not directly affected by the tsunami and near camps where the IDPs were living
Summary
The goal of this study was to collect information to inform the design of a mental health response following the massive December 2004 earthquake and tsunami in Aceh and North Sumatra, Indonesia. Physical environment and changes in life circumstances may contribute to diminished mental health status remains an area for further research. Such knowledge is important to the development of comprehensive disaster responses that include addressing the mental health of survivors [4]. Fukuda et al [6] examined highly exposed Awaji Island survivors of the Hanshin-Awaji (Japan) earthquake at 20 months following the disaster Those with more difficult life circumstances following the disaster, who were more likely to be still living in temporary housing, had higher mean scores on a DSM-IV-based post-traumatic stress disorder measure. Exposure predisposes those affected to secondary stressors, which in turn contribute to a decline in psychological health
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
