Search

Background: About 7000 Swedish citizens were on Christmas holiday in the disaster area at the time of the South-east Asian tsunami in 2004, in many cases with children and adolescents in their families. Aims: To investigate how adolescents experience a traumatic exposure to a natural disaster. Method: Twenty adolescents aged 16-19 years, who had experienced the 2004 tsunami and participated in a follow-up study 19 months post-disaster, were randomly selected and interviewed about their reactions, their life afterwards and their families. The study combines the face-to-face, semi-structured interviews with questionnaire data on mental health for 4910 Swedish adolescents and adults. Results: The themes that emerged inductively during the analysis of the interviews were psychological reactions during the catastrophe, the coping after, changes in self-image, worldview, role in the family, risk interpretation and altruism. The disaster had profound impact on family relations, social networks and plans for the future. Many felt strengthened by the experience and by their ability to cope in comparison with other family members, but also perceived isolation and lack of understanding. The general mental health status among the adolescents did not differ significantly from those of older age at the 19-month follow-up. Conclusions: According to the adolescents', they experienced the tsunami-disaster differently than others around them. Their subjective interpretation of the event and its aftermath indicates resilience, especially among the young men. Future follow-up studies in larger samples of both symptoms and psychological functioning are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The risk of developing enduring post-traumatic stress reactions and mental health problems in the aftermath of disasters is substantial. However, there are inconsistencies regarding the contribution of physical injury as an independent risk factor for developing psychiatric morbidity after disasters. Aims: The aim was to assess whether physical injury was associated with post-traumatic stress reactions and general mental health after adjusting for perceived life-threat in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami. Methods: A sample of 1501 highly exposed survivors from the 2004 Southeast Asia tsunami was selected from a cohort of Swedish survivors surveyed 14 and 36 months after the event. The impact of physical injury on post-traumatic stress and general mental health was assessed by regression models accounting for subjective life-threat. Results: Physical injury was associated with higher levels of post-traumatic stress reactions and poorer general mental health. These associations were observed at both 14 and 36 months after the disaster. Conclusions: Physical injury has a specific contribution to the association between traumatic experience and both post-traumatic stress reactions and general mental health in victims of the 2004 tsunami. The effect is stable over several years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]