ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Peritraumatic reactions play a crucial role in the development of mental health problems, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Therefore, this study sought to examine the influence of the peritraumatic reactions, including peritraumatic dissociation, peritraumatic distress, mental defeat, and tonic immobility, on post-traumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder in earthquake survivors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 261 adult participants aged between 18 and 65 (Mage=29.20, SD = 28.06, 162 were female, and 99 were male) who were exposed to the Kahramanmaras earthquake in February 2023 were recruited in the study. Data were collected between April 10 and 18 2023, two months after the earthquake. Participants completed questionnaires, including The International Trauma Questionnaire, The International Depression Questionnaire, The Mental Defeat Questionnaire, The Tonic Immobility Scale, and The Peritraumatic Dissociative Experiences Questionnaire. RESULTS: Two-step multiple linear regression analyses indicated all peritraumatic reactions predicted both post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. Dominance analysis results showed that the contribution of peritraumatic dissociation in predicting PTSD and depression was higher among other peritraumatic reactions. CONCLUSION: The findings of the study revealed a robust association between peritraumatic reactions and both depression and PTSD, shedding light on the underlying processes in the development of trauma-related disorders. Early assessment of peritraumatic reactions may be useful in identifying individuals at risk of developing PTSD and depression.
Subject(s)
Depressive Disorder, Major , Earthquakes , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic , Adult , Humans , Male , Female , Adolescent , Young Adult , Middle Aged , Aged , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/diagnosis , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/epidemiology , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/etiology , Depressive Disorder, Major/diagnosis , Depressive Disorder, Major/epidemiology , Depressive Disorder, Major/etiology , Survivors/psychology , Surveys and Questionnaires , Dissociative Disorders/epidemiology , Dissociative Disorders/psychologyABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic can be identified as a source of traumatic stress. Previous studies have shown that post-traumatic stress and intolerance of uncertainty are associated with aggressive behaviour. OBJECTIVE: In the present study, we aimed to test a serial mediation model, considering rumination and post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) as mediators that link intolerance of uncertainty and aggression, while controlling the confounding effect of crisis-induced health and socioeconomic stressors during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHOD: A total of 714 participants [533 (74.6%) females, 176 (24.7%) males, aged 18-64 years (M age = 25.16, SD age = 9.34)] completed the following self-reported scales: Aggression Scale, COVID-19 stressors checklist, Short Version of the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale, Impact of Event Scale with Modifications for COVID-19, and Ruminative Thought Style Questionnaire. RESULTS: The results revealed that there was an association between intolerance of uncertainty and aggressive behaviours. Moreover, the results of serial mediation analysis showed that intolerance of uncertainty predicts aggressive behaviours via rumination and PTSS. Besides, socioeconomic stressors are significantly associated with the level of PTSS and aggression, while health stressors are not significantly association with the level of PTSS and aggression. CONCLUSIONS: The findings provide several contributions to understand the link between intolerance of uncertainty and aggressive behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic, and confirm the importance of early psychological intervention, especially for those who are more likely to ruminate and suffer from PTSS, to prevent aggression and violence in the long run. In addition to health-related regulations, it is important to take the social and economic aspects of the crisis into account and develop intervention strategies accordingly. Nevertheless, the limitations of cross-sectional mediation analysis in explaining causal relationships should be kept in mind, and future studies should extend these findings using longitudinal data.
Antecedentes: La pandemia por COVID-19 se puede identificar como una fuente de estrés traumático, y estudios previos mostraron que el estrés postraumático y la intolerancia a la incertidumbre están asociados con el comportamiento agresivo.Objetivo: En el presente estudio, nuestro objetivo fue probar un modelo de mediación en serie, considerando la rumiación y los síntomas de estrés postraumático (SEPT) como mediadores que vinculan la intolerancia a la incertidumbre y la agresión, controlando el efecto de confusión de los factores estresantes socioeconómicos y de salud inducidos por crisis durante la pandemia de COVID-19.Método: Un total de 714 participantes (533 [74,6%] mujeres, 176 [24,7%] hombres de entre 18 y 64 años (Medad = 25.16, DEedad = 9.34) completaron las siguientes escalas de auto-reporte: Escala de agresión, Lista de Chequeo de Factores Estresantes por COVID-19, Versión Corta de la Escala de Intolerancia a la incertidumbre, Escala de Impacto de Eventos con modificaciones para COVID-19 y Cuestionario de Estilo de Pensamiento Rumiante.Resultados: Los resultados revelaron una asociación entre la intolerancia a la incertidumbre y las conductas agresivas. Además, el resultado del análisis de mediación en serie mostró que la intolerancia a la incertidumbre predice comportamientos agresivos a través de la rumiación y los SEPT. Además, los factores de estrés socioeconómico están significativamente asociados con el nivel de SEPT y la agresión, mientras que los estresores de salud no están significativamente asociados con el nivel de SEPT y la agresión.Conclusiones: Los hallazgos brindan varias contribuciones para comprender el vínculo entre la intolerancia a la incertidumbre y los comportamientos agresivos durante la pandemia de COVID-19 y la importancia de la intervención psicológica temprana, especialmente para aquellos que tienen más probabilidades de presentar rumiación y sufrir SEPT para prevenir la agresión y la violencia a largo plazo. Además de las regulaciones relacionadas con la salud, es importante tener en cuenta los aspectos sociales y económicos de las crisis, y desarrollar en concordancia estrategias de intervención. No obstante, deben tenerse en cuenta las limitaciones del análisis de mediación transversal para explicar las relaciones causales y los estudios futuros deben ampliar los hallazgos mediante el uso de datos longitudinales.
