AUTHOR=Wahab Suzaily , Yong Li Ling , Chieng Wei Keong , Yamil Myristica , Sawal Noor Azah , Abdullah Nurul Qiyaam , Muhdisin Noor Cyntiya Rahmawati , Wd Wiredarma Siti Mardiyah , Ismail Rosnah , Othman Aisya Hanim , Damanhuri Hanafi Ahmad 

TITLE=Post-traumatic Stress Symptoms in Adolescents Exposed to the Earthquake in Lombok, Indonesia: Prevalence and Association With Maladaptive Trauma-Related Cognition and Resilience

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.680393

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2021.680393

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Background:</bold> Natural disasters may physically and psychologically affect individuals and their surrounding community. This study determines the prevalence of post-traumatic stress (PTS) symptoms and its association with maladaptive trauma-related cognition and resilience among adolescents post-earthquake.</p><p><bold>Materials and Methods:</bold> Data were collected, in this cross-sectional study, during an intervention program post-earthquake held in a state high school located at Lombok, Indonesia. The study sample engaged students 14–19 years of age using the purposive sampling method. The questionnaires used to measure PTS symptoms, maladaptive trauma-related cognition, and resilience were Children's Revised Impact of Event Scale-13 (CRIES-13), Child Post-Traumatic Cognitions Inventory (CPTCI), and Child and Youth Resilience Measure-Revised (CYRM-R), respectively.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> The prevalence of PTS symptoms was 69.9%. Among the respondents, 61.37% were female and 56.48% had mothers with lower educational levels. Using multiple linear regression, the final predictors of PTS symptoms were excessive reactions (e.g., wailing loudly, miserable shrieking) of proxy during earthquake (<italic>β</italic> = 3.283, <italic>p</italic> = 0.005), maladaptive trauma-related cognition (<italic>β</italic> = 0.224, <italic>p</italic> = 0.002), and resilience (<italic>β</italic> = 0.192, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001) with female gender (<italic>β</italic> = 7.350, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001) as a control variable. Through simple linear regression, victims who witnessed injury or death during the earthquake (<italic>p</italic> = 0.003), had a proxy died during the earthquake (<italic>p</italic> = 0.01), and trapped victims or those who had difficulty escaping (<italic>p</italic> = 0.01) were identified to potentially predict the occurrence of PTS symptoms, warranting further study.</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> The presence of excessive proxy reactions during the earthquake, maladaptive trauma-related cognition, and resilience in adolescents exposed to a natural disaster are worth targeting and prioritizing in future post-disaster interventions.</p>