THE NATURE OF PSYCHO EMOTIONAL DISORDERS IN WOMEN, EXPOSED DURING THE CHERNOBYL ACCIDENT

Abstract

The accident at the 4th Power Unit of the Chernobyl NPP on April 26, 1986 is estimated worldwide as one of the most severe disasters in the history of nuclear energy, which resulted in the irradiation of various population categories. Pregnant women represent a special category of victims, since external and internal radiation affected not only the female body, but also the developing fetus. The study of such irradiation consequences is extremely important, since long-term monitoring of the state of health will make it possible to find out the main mechanisms of post-radiation effects on female and children. The aim of this work was to assess the psycho-emotional characteristics in 2 women groups. The first group is women who were irradiated due to the incorporation of radioactive iodine by the thyroid gland in April-May 1986 and were at different pregnancy stages. The second group was analyzed as a control, identical in basic parameters to the first, except that at the time of radiation exposure to iodine-131 they have not been pregnant. The severity of post-traumatic stress disorder was analyzed using a self-reporting technique using the PCL-S questionnaire. The psychological distress degree was determined using the K-6 questionnaire. The analysis of the relationship of post-traumatic stress disorder and psychological distress was carried out, the factor structure with the assessment of the contribution of latent factors, as well as inter-factor relationships were studied. A relationship between most factors of posttraumatic stress disorder and psychological distress was revealed, which may indicate the possibility of a causal relationship between the psychological status of women and the risk of somatic pathology in them. It was revealed that radiation is the direct cause of psychological maladaptation in studied women.