Citation

Belleville G, Ouellet MC, Morin CM. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019; 16(9): e16091604.

Affiliation

School of Psychology, Laval University, Quebec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada. cmorin@psy.ulaval.ca.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

DOI

10.3390/ijerph16091604

PMID

31071909

Abstract

This study documents post-traumatic stress symptoms after the May 2016 wildfires in Fort McMurray (Alberta, Canada). A sample of 379 evacuees completed an online questionnaire from July to September 2016, and a subsample of 55 completed a psychiatric/psychological diagnostic interview. According to a self-report questionnaire, 62.5% of respondents had a provisional post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The interview confirmed that 29.1% met criteria for PTSD, 25.5% for depression, and 43.6% for insomnia; in most cases, insomnia was definitely or probably related to the fires. Traumatic exposure may elicit or exacerbate sleep problems, which are closely associated with PTSD after a disaster.

Language: en

Keywords

mental health; post-traumatic stress disorder; psychological distress; sleep