Post‐traumatic stress disorder and anxiety symptoms in children exposed to the 1999 Greek earthquake

Abstract

Five months after the Athens earthquake of September 1999, 178 children from three districts of Athens at increasing distances from the epicenter were administered questionnaires to identify symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and the extent of personal threat experienced. It was found that PTSD and anxiety symptoms were significantly related to proximity to the epicenter, exposure to threat and female gender. Age did not have a significant main effect on either anxiety or PTSD symptoms, but there were significant interactions between age and the other main variables. In the region closest to the epicenter, the youngest children reported the highest PTSD and anxiety symptom scores, but in the group furthest from the epicenter the older children reported the highest PTSD and anxiety symptom scores. These findings were discussed in relation to direct and media-imparted exposure to the earthquake.