Earthquakes, attributions, and psychopathology: a study in a rural community
Background: Attributions of both cause and blame form part of the diagnostic criteria for PTSD in DSM-5. Most work on attributions and psychopathology has focused on survivors of interpersonal violence and the two types of attribution have not been investigated together in natural disaster contexts....
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2019-12-01
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| Series: | European Journal of Psychotraumatology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2019.1661813 |
| _version_ | 1828065773189332992 |
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| author | Alessandro Massazza Helene Joffe Chris R. Brewin |
| author_facet | Alessandro Massazza Helene Joffe Chris R. Brewin |
| author_sort | Alessandro Massazza |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Attributions of both cause and blame form part of the diagnostic criteria for PTSD in DSM-5. Most work on attributions and psychopathology has focused on survivors of interpersonal violence and the two types of attribution have not been investigated together in natural disaster contexts. Previous work has identified that attributions to God’s role may be associated with survivors’ mental health following disasters. We studied the relation between attributions to God and other actors/entities in a rural community with high levels of religiosity that had suffered extensive damage and loss of life due to a series of earthquakes. Methods: A sample of survivors (N = 127) was assessed for degree of earthquake exposure, resource loss, attributions of cause and blame for the earthquake damage, and psychopathology three months after a series of major earthquakes in Italy. Results: Nature and chance were associated with higher cause than blame attributions whereas the State, the municipality, building firms, and the mafia were associated with higher blame than cause attributions. Additionally, both cause and blame attributions towards God and chance were positively correlated with PTSD and psychological distress symptoms. These associations remained significant while controlling for degree of earthquake exposure, resource loss, gender, age, and education. Conclusion: The current study supports the role played by cognitions about the cause of traumatic events, as introduced into the PTSD diagnosis in DSM-5, and extends this to blame of other entities such as God and chance following disasters. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T23:19:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f559edb92bcf411ebba7b52a6494879e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2000-8066 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T23:19:19Z |
| publishDate | 2019-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of Psychotraumatology |
| spelling | doaj.art-f559edb92bcf411ebba7b52a6494879e2023-01-12T15:31:31ZengTaylor & Francis GroupEuropean Journal of Psychotraumatology2000-80662019-12-0110110.1080/20008198.2019.16618131661813Earthquakes, attributions, and psychopathology: a study in a rural communityAlessandro Massazza0Helene Joffe1Chris R. Brewin2University College LondonUniversity College LondonUniversity College LondonBackground: Attributions of both cause and blame form part of the diagnostic criteria for PTSD in DSM-5. Most work on attributions and psychopathology has focused on survivors of interpersonal violence and the two types of attribution have not been investigated together in natural disaster contexts. Previous work has identified that attributions to God’s role may be associated with survivors’ mental health following disasters. We studied the relation between attributions to God and other actors/entities in a rural community with high levels of religiosity that had suffered extensive damage and loss of life due to a series of earthquakes. Methods: A sample of survivors (N = 127) was assessed for degree of earthquake exposure, resource loss, attributions of cause and blame for the earthquake damage, and psychopathology three months after a series of major earthquakes in Italy. Results: Nature and chance were associated with higher cause than blame attributions whereas the State, the municipality, building firms, and the mafia were associated with higher blame than cause attributions. Additionally, both cause and blame attributions towards God and chance were positively correlated with PTSD and psychological distress symptoms. These associations remained significant while controlling for degree of earthquake exposure, resource loss, gender, age, and education. Conclusion: The current study supports the role played by cognitions about the cause of traumatic events, as introduced into the PTSD diagnosis in DSM-5, and extends this to blame of other entities such as God and chance following disasters.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2019.1661813disaster survivorsposttraumatic stress disorderpsychopathologyattributionsblamecause |
| spellingShingle | Alessandro Massazza Helene Joffe Chris R. Brewin Earthquakes, attributions, and psychopathology: a study in a rural community European Journal of Psychotraumatology disaster survivors posttraumatic stress disorder psychopathology attributions blame cause |
| title | Earthquakes, attributions, and psychopathology: a study in a rural community |
| title_full | Earthquakes, attributions, and psychopathology: a study in a rural community |
| title_fullStr | Earthquakes, attributions, and psychopathology: a study in a rural community |
| title_full_unstemmed | Earthquakes, attributions, and psychopathology: a study in a rural community |
| title_short | Earthquakes, attributions, and psychopathology: a study in a rural community |
| title_sort | earthquakes attributions and psychopathology a study in a rural community |
| topic | disaster survivors posttraumatic stress disorder psychopathology attributions blame cause |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2019.1661813 |
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