Áfallaröskun og sálræn viðbrögð meðal íslenskra þolenda jarðskjálfta

Abstract

Purpose: To explore the psychological consequences of two earthquakes in Iceland in two probability samples of subjects - residents in the exposed area and a control group from an unexposed area. Subjects: 52 adults exposed to the earthquakes and 29 adults in a control group. Method: Three months after the earthquakes, both groups were approached with questions from a survey consisting of the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ), the Trauma Symptom Checklist (TSC), the Coping Styles Questionnaire (CSQ), the World Assumption Scale (WAS), and the Crisis Support Scale (CSS). Results: 24% in the exposed group had Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and none in the control group had PTSD. Earthquake-related anxiety, inability to express ones thoughts and feelings, and emotional coping predicted 81% of the HTQ variance for both groups. Previous life events, low self-worth, and luck attributions, together with numbing and the feeling of being let down, predicted 56% of the symptom variance for both groups. When degree of traumatization and emotional coping were added to the model, another 30% of the variance could be explained.