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Risk Factors of Post-traumatic Stress and Depressive Disorders in Longmenshan Adolescents After the 2013 Lushan Earthquake

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Abstract

This study examined the severity of post-traumatic stress and depressive disorders in Longmenshan adolescents after the 2013 Lushan earthquake, as well as relationships among earthquake-related exposure, post-earthquake negative factors, previous exposure to the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, and level of earthquake impact (city). A cross-sectional survey was conducted among adolescents in Lushan (n = 1416), Baoxing (n = 1102) and Tianquan (n = 1265) at 3 years after the Lushan earthquake. Respondents were evaluated using the Earthquake Experience Scale, the Adolescent Self-rating Life Events Checklist (ASLEC), the Children’s Revised Impact of Event Scale (CRIES-13), and the Depression Self-Rating Scale (KADS-6). High levels of post-traumatic stress and depression symptoms were found among adolescents in the most heavily affected cities, and these symptoms were more severe in respondents exposed to the 2008 earthquake. PTSD correlated most strongly with earthquake exposure, whereas depression correlated most strongly with psychosocial stressors following the event.

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Acknowledgements

The research is supported by the Propaganda Department of People’s Republic of China (No. 2016zybw03) and the Major Bidding Program of National Social Science Foundation of China (No. 17ZDA286). The authors are grateful to both programs for their financial and scientific support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Emergency Management and Reconstruction in Post-disaster, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610064, People’s Republic of China

    Jiuping Xu, Yan Wang & Wanjie Tang

  2. Centre for Educational and Health Psychology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China

    Wanjie Tang

  3. Mental Health Center, State Key Lab of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China

    Wanjie Tang

  4. Institute of Emergency Management and Reconstruction in Post-disaster, Sichuan University, No. 24, SouthSection 1, Yihuan Road, Chengdu, 610065, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China

    Jiuping Xu

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  1. Jiuping Xu
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  2. Yan Wang
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Correspondence to Jiuping Xu.

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Ethical Approval

This project was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Sichuan University, the Research Ethics Committee of the West China Hospital of Sichuan University, and the Education Bureau of Lushan, Tianquan, and Baoxing Counties. The study was conducted in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments.

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Xu, J., Wang, Y. & Tang, W. Risk Factors of Post-traumatic Stress and Depressive Disorders in Longmenshan Adolescents After the 2013 Lushan Earthquake. Community Ment Health J 55, 497–506 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-018-0256-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-018-0256-6

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