Psychological distress and coping strategies used by amputated survivors of October 2005 earthquake in Pakistan

ABSTRACT

The present study aimed to examine relationship between psychological distress and coping strategies used by amputated survivors of 8/11 earthquake in 2005 in Pakistan. The present study used cross-sectional correlational design. Thirty earthquake amputated survivors of 8/11 earth quake were recruited through Rehabilitation Centre, Ayub Medical complex, from Mansehra and Balakot survivor camps and it took two months to complete assessments. Urdu version of General Health Questionnaire-12 [Minhas and Mubbashar, 1996] and Coping Strategies Questionnaire [Kausar and Akram, 1998] were used for assessment. Majority [7 7%] of the participants were experiencing distress. Religious coping strategies were the most and active distractive strategies were the least used coping strategies by the amputated survivors. Moreover, those who used religious focused coping reported less distress and those who used avoidance focused coping strategies reported more psychological distress. The findings highlight the importance of religion and faith in coping with adversities and have important implications for rehabilitation of amputated earthquake survivors