Citation

Bell CJ, Boden JM, Horwood LJ, Mulder RT. Aust. N. Zeal. J. Psychiatry 2017; 51(7): 711-718.

Affiliation

1 Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago, Christchurch, Christchurch, New Zealand.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0004867417691852

PMID

28633571

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Few studies have examined the contribution of specific disaster-related experiences to symptoms of depression. The aims of this study were to do this by examining the roles of peri-traumatic stress and distress due to lingering disaster-related disruption in explaining linkages between disaster exposure and major depressive disorder symptoms among a cohort exposed to the 2010-2011 Canterbury (New Zealand) earthquakes.

METHODS: Structural equation models were fitted to data obtained from the Christchurch Health and Development Study at age 35 ( n = 495), 20-24 months following the onset of the disaster. Measures included earthquake exposure, peri-traumatic stress, disruption distress and symptoms of major depressive disorder.

RESULTS: The associations between earthquake exposure and major depression were explained largely by the experience of peri-traumatic stress during the earthquakes (β = 0.180, p < 0.01) and not by disruption distress following the earthquakes (β = 0.048, p = 0.47).

CONCLUSION: The results suggest that peri-traumatic stress has been under-recognised as a predictor of major depressive disorder.

Language: en

Keywords

Disaster; depression; disruption; peri-traumatic