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Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms, Physical Illness, and Social Adjustment Among Disaster Victims

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 May 2022

Amira Trabsa ,
Nabin Lee  and
Jung Hyun Lee
Amira Trabsa
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Legal Medicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
Nabin Lee
Affiliation:
Division of Disaster Mental Health Services, National Center for Mental Health, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Jung Hyun Lee*
Affiliation:
Division of Disaster Mental Health Services, National Center for Mental Health, Seoul, Republic of Korea
*
Corresponding author: Jung Hyun Lee, Email: leejunghyun1@gmail.com.
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Abstract

Objective:

Posttraumatic stress disorder is one of the most studied outcomes after a disaster. Posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) are maladaptive and disabling and can severely impair affected individuals’ psychosocial functioning and quality of life. Consequently, the objective of this research is to investigate the prevalence of PTSS and physical illness among disaster victims.

Methods:

We analyzed disaster victims’ survey data in South Korea 1 year after a natural disaster (n = 1659). Then, we performed multivariable comparisons of social and work adjustments between individuals with PTSS and individuals with physical illness to examine the association between PTSS and functional impairment.

Results:

Individuals with PTSS had a significant association with work and social maladjustments whether or not they had a physical illness; PTSS (+) physical illness (-) group (OR: 1.18, CI: 1.12–1.26, P < 0.001) and PTSS (+) physical illness (+) group (OR: 1.16, CI: 1.08–1.23, P < 0.001). Interestingly, this association was not significant in the group that exclusively presented physical illness.

Conclusions:

Our results suggest that PTSS might be a critical factor in social maladjustment during the post-disaster period. Subsequently, an assessment of disaster victims’ PTSS would help ensure effective medical and governmental approaches to assist disaster victims.

Keywords

disasterphysical illnessPTSDPTSSsocial adjustment
Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 17 , 2023 , e195
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.

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