Studies of PTSD among Malaysians are virtually unavailable. Three years after the 2004 tsunami, PTSD symptoms among Malays directly exposed to this disaster were examined.

To examine the potential predictive factors of PTSD symptoms.

To determine PTSD prevalence, severity, and number of lifetime traumas. To examine if sociodemographic characteristics can be significant predictive factors of PTSD severity.

Cross-sectional survey was conducted interviewing 250 Malays from the most severely affected villages. Measurements include socio-demographic characteristics and number of lifetime traumas. The Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale (PDS)(Foa, 1996)was also included to measure DSM-IV PTSD symptoms.

In total, 18.8% (47) of participants met DSM-IV PTSD criteria, with 14.8% having mild symptoms, 36.1% having moderate symptoms, 42.5% having moderate to severe symptoms, and 6.3% having severe symptoms. The highest reported symptom among all participants was criterion A: intense fear, helplessness and horror. Analysis of lifetime prevalence shows 4.4% never having traumatic experience, 48% having one exposure, 28.4% having two exposures, 12.8% having between 3–4 exposures, and 6.4% having more than 5 exposures to traumatic events in their lifetime. Ordinal logistic regression analysis was additionally conducted to determine the relationship between PTSD level of severity and its socio-demographic predictors.

The prevalence of PTSD remained high with many participants still exhibiting severe symptoms. Findings in this study highlight that an immediate community intervention program is urgently needed.