Long-term mental health and social support in victims of disaster: comparison with a general population sample
BackgroundTrauma and traumatic bereavement have well-known consequences for mental health, but little is known about long-term adjustment, particularly with respect to health-protective factors.AimsTo assess the levels of anxiety/depression and perceived social support among the survivors and the be...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2019-01-01
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| Series: | BJPsych Open |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2056472418000741/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1827995674525827072 |
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| author | Siri Thoresen Marianne Skogbrott Birkeland Filip K. Arnberg Tore Wentzel-Larsen Ines Blix |
| author_facet | Siri Thoresen Marianne Skogbrott Birkeland Filip K. Arnberg Tore Wentzel-Larsen Ines Blix |
| author_sort | Siri Thoresen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BackgroundTrauma and traumatic bereavement have well-known consequences for mental health, but little is known about long-term adjustment, particularly with respect to health-protective factors.AimsTo assess the levels of anxiety/depression and perceived social support among the survivors and the bereaved 26 years after the Scandinavian Star ferry disaster compared with expected levels from the general population.MethodAnxiety/depression and social support were assessed in face-to-face interviews with the survivors and the bereaved (N = 165, response rate 58%). Expected scores were calculated for each participant based on the means and proportions for each age and gender combination from a general population sample. We computed the ratio between expected and observed scores, standardised mean differences with 95% confidence intervals and standardised effect sizes.ResultsWe found an elevated level of anxiety/depression symptoms in the victims (Mdiff = 0.28, 95% CI 0.18, 0.38; effect size 0.43, 95% CI 0.31, 0.55) and a significant excess of individuals with a clinically significant level of symptoms. The observed level of perceived social support was significantly lower than that expected (Mdiff = −0.57, 95% CI −0.70, −0.44; effect size −0.73, 95% CI −0.89, −0.57). This was the case for both survivors and those who were bereaved and for both men and women.ConclusionsThis study reveals that disaster survivors and the bereaved reported elevated levels of anxiety and depression symptoms 26 years after the event. They also reported a markedly reduced level of social support. Traumas and post-traumatic responses may thus cause lasting harm to interpersonal relationships.Declaration of interestNone. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T05:00:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-311d3e95092742e38fd62659dd3937f2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2056-4724 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T05:00:03Z |
| publishDate | 2019-01-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BJPsych Open |
| spelling | doaj.art-311d3e95092742e38fd62659dd3937f22023-03-09T12:28:50ZengCambridge University PressBJPsych Open2056-47242019-01-01510.1192/bjo.2018.74Long-term mental health and social support in victims of disaster: comparison with a general population sampleSiri Thoresen0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5688-7948Marianne Skogbrott Birkeland1Filip K. Arnberg2Tore Wentzel-Larsen3Ines Blix4Research Professor, Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies, NorwaySenior Researcher, Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies, NorwayAssociate Professor, National Centre for Disaster Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, Psychiatry, Uppsala University, SwedenSenior Researcher, Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies, Norway and Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, NorwaySenior Researcher, Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies, Norway.BackgroundTrauma and traumatic bereavement have well-known consequences for mental health, but little is known about long-term adjustment, particularly with respect to health-protective factors.AimsTo assess the levels of anxiety/depression and perceived social support among the survivors and the bereaved 26 years after the Scandinavian Star ferry disaster compared with expected levels from the general population.MethodAnxiety/depression and social support were assessed in face-to-face interviews with the survivors and the bereaved (N = 165, response rate 58%). Expected scores were calculated for each participant based on the means and proportions for each age and gender combination from a general population sample. We computed the ratio between expected and observed scores, standardised mean differences with 95% confidence intervals and standardised effect sizes.ResultsWe found an elevated level of anxiety/depression symptoms in the victims (Mdiff = 0.28, 95% CI 0.18, 0.38; effect size 0.43, 95% CI 0.31, 0.55) and a significant excess of individuals with a clinically significant level of symptoms. The observed level of perceived social support was significantly lower than that expected (Mdiff = −0.57, 95% CI −0.70, −0.44; effect size −0.73, 95% CI −0.89, −0.57). This was the case for both survivors and those who were bereaved and for both men and women.ConclusionsThis study reveals that disaster survivors and the bereaved reported elevated levels of anxiety and depression symptoms 26 years after the event. They also reported a markedly reduced level of social support. Traumas and post-traumatic responses may thus cause lasting harm to interpersonal relationships.Declaration of interestNone.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2056472418000741/type/journal_articleDisastermental healthsocial functioninglong term |
| spellingShingle | Siri Thoresen Marianne Skogbrott Birkeland Filip K. Arnberg Tore Wentzel-Larsen Ines Blix Long-term mental health and social support in victims of disaster: comparison with a general population sample BJPsych Open Disaster mental health social functioning long term |
| title | Long-term mental health and social support in victims of disaster: comparison with a general population sample |
| title_full | Long-term mental health and social support in victims of disaster: comparison with a general population sample |
| title_fullStr | Long-term mental health and social support in victims of disaster: comparison with a general population sample |
| title_full_unstemmed | Long-term mental health and social support in victims of disaster: comparison with a general population sample |
| title_short | Long-term mental health and social support in victims of disaster: comparison with a general population sample |
| title_sort | long term mental health and social support in victims of disaster comparison with a general population sample |
| topic | Disaster mental health social functioning long term |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2056472418000741/type/journal_article |
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