TY - JOUR
T1 - Earthquake Exposures and Mental Health Outcomes in Children and Adolescents From Phulpingdanda Village, Nepal
T2 - A Cross-sectional Study
AU - Schwind, Jessica S.
AU - Formby, Clara B.
AU - Santangelo, Susan L.
AU - Norman, Stephanie A.
AU - Brown, Rebecca
AU - Hoffman Frances, Rebecca
AU - Koss, Elisabeth
AU - Karmacharya, Dibesh
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 The Author(s).
PY - 2018/12/20
Y1 - 2018/12/20
N2 - Background: Mental health issues can reach epidemic proportions in developed countries after natural disasters, but research is needed to better understand the impact on children and adolescents in developing nations. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed to examine the relationship between earthquake exposures and depression, PTSD, and resilience among children and adolescents in Phulpingdanda village in Nepal, 1 year after the 2015 earthquakes, using the Depression Self-Rating Scale for Children, Child PTSD Symptom Scale, and the Child and Youth Resilience Measure, respectively. To quantify exposure, a basic demographic and household questionnaire, including an earthquake exposure assessment tool for children and adolescents, was created. Results: Of the 62 respondents interviewed, 3.23% and 4.84% displayed symptomatology of depression and PTSD. A large number of respondents interviewed scored high for resiliency (80.65%). All 62 respondents were displaced from their household and witnessed severe damage of both their homes and village. The number of earthquake exposures had a strong, positive correlation with PTSD symptomatology. Conclusions: Although the number of respondents who showed signs of depression and PTSD symptomatology was lower than anticipated, resilience scores were considerably higher. Future research should explore which protective factors may contribute to high resiliency in Nepali children and adolescents.
AB - Background: Mental health issues can reach epidemic proportions in developed countries after natural disasters, but research is needed to better understand the impact on children and adolescents in developing nations. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed to examine the relationship between earthquake exposures and depression, PTSD, and resilience among children and adolescents in Phulpingdanda village in Nepal, 1 year after the 2015 earthquakes, using the Depression Self-Rating Scale for Children, Child PTSD Symptom Scale, and the Child and Youth Resilience Measure, respectively. To quantify exposure, a basic demographic and household questionnaire, including an earthquake exposure assessment tool for children and adolescents, was created. Results: Of the 62 respondents interviewed, 3.23% and 4.84% displayed symptomatology of depression and PTSD. A large number of respondents interviewed scored high for resiliency (80.65%). All 62 respondents were displaced from their household and witnessed severe damage of both their homes and village. The number of earthquake exposures had a strong, positive correlation with PTSD symptomatology. Conclusions: Although the number of respondents who showed signs of depression and PTSD symptomatology was lower than anticipated, resilience scores were considerably higher. Future research should explore which protective factors may contribute to high resiliency in Nepali children and adolescents.
KW - Adolescents
KW - Children
KW - Depression
KW - Earthquake
KW - Natural disaster
KW - Nepal
KW - PTSD
KW - Resilience
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85059112773&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/s13034-018-0257-9
DO - 10.1186/s13034-018-0257-9
M3 - Article
SN - 1753-2000
VL - 12
JO - Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health
JF - Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health
IS - 1
M1 - 54
ER -
