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Article history: Background: High rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depressive symptoms have been
Received 2 October 2012 observed in earthquake survivors from less developed areas of the world. This study, conducted three
Accepted 23 October 2012 years after the 2005 Pakistan earthquake, aimed to identify potentially protective psychosocial factors
Available online 27 November 2012
associated with lower PTSD and depressive symptom levels.
Keywords: Methods: Adult earthquake survivors (N 200) were recruited from affected areas in Northwestern
Posttraumatic stress disorder Pakistan and completed self-report questionnaires measuring PTSD and depressive symptoms, positive
Earthquake and negative affect, and four psychosocial variables (purpose in life, positive and negative religious
Pakistan coping, and social support).
Purpose in life
Results: Sixty ve percent of participants met criteria for probable PTSD. Purpose in life was associated
Religious coping
with lower symptom levels and higher positive emotions. A form of negative religious coping (feeling
Social support
punished by God for ones sins or lack of spirituality) was associated with higher symptom levels and
negative emotions. Higher perceived social support was associated with higher positive emotions.
Other signicant relationships were also identied.
Limitations: Limitations include the recruitment of a sample of convenience, a modest sample size, and
the cross-sectional nature of the study.
Conclusions: Findings suggest that some psychosocial factors may be protective across cultures, and
that the use of negative religious coping is associated with poorer mental health outcomes in
earthquake survivors. This study can inform preventive and treatment interventions for earthquake
survivors in Pakistan and other less industrialized countries as they develop mental health care
services.
& 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
0165-0327/$ - see front matter & 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2012.10.027
A. Feder et al. / Journal of Affective Disorders 147 (2013) 156163 157
factors associated with resilience to trauma exposure has accu- and four psychosocial variables (purpose in life, positive and
mulated in the last decade, including the potentially protective negative religious coping, and social support). In totaling the scores
role of positive emotions and healthy social supports (Alim et al., for each scale, participants data for that variable were excluded if
2008; Feder et al., 2009; Fredrickson, 2004; Hoge et al., 2007). Of 20% or more of the responses for that scale were missing.
longstanding theoretical interest but less well-studied empirically The severity of trauma symptoms was assessed using the
in trauma survivors is an individuals sense of purpose in life Traumatic Stress Symptom Checklist (TSSC; Basoglu et al., 2001) a
(Alim et al., 2008; Feder et al., 2009; Pietrzak et al., 2010; Pietrzak 23-question scale designed to specically identify PTSD and depres-
et al., 2011). The role of religious coping is also of interest in the sive symptoms in earthquake survivors. It was developed and
face of trauma, especially in the developing world where religion validated using non-Western populations and has an internal
is of central cultural signicance (Ali et al., 2012). consistency of.94 for all 23 items and.92 and.84 for the subscales
On October 8th 2005, at 8:50 am, an earthquake measuring TSSC-PTSD and TSSC-Depression, respectively (Basoglu et al., 2001).
7.6 on the Richter scale struck the Northwestern Frontier Province in Seventeen questions measure severity of PTSD symptoms and the
Pakistan. The most devastating earthquake to strike the region in the latter six measure depressive symptoms. In scoring, each participant
last century, according to some estimates there were more than received a total TSSC score as well as two subscale scores for PTSD
250,000 casualties and over 3.5 million people became homeless, (TSSC-PTSD) and depression (TSSC-DEP). Responses to each question
with no relief in sight and nowhere to go. The present cross-sectional are scaled from 0 (Not bothered at all) to 3 (Very much
study, carried out in 2008, aimed to document the prevalence of bothered). A participant with a TSSC-PTSD score equal to or over
posttraumatic stress symptoms three years after the disaster, and to 25 meets criteria for probable PTSD (Basoglu et al., 2001).
identify psychosocial factors associated with lower PTSD and depres- Positive and negative emotions were measured by the trait
sive symptom levels in earthquake survivors. version of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (Watson
Based on our prior ndings (Ahmad et al., 2010) and those of et al., 1988). The schedule is comprised of 10 items to assess
others (Ali et al., 2012; Basoglu et al., 2001; Galea et al., 2005), we positive affect (e.g., enthusiastic, proud) and 10 items to
hypothesized that female gender, lower education, loss of loved assess negative affect (e.g., afraid, upset). Participants rated
ones, and closer proximity to the epicenter would be signicantly how much they generally felt each emotion on a scale from 1 to 5.
associated with higher symptom levels. We additionally predicted The positive affect component has an internal consistency ranging
that higher purpose in life (Alim et al., 2008; Hoge et al., 2007) from.86 to.90. The negative affect component has an internal
and higher perceived social supports (Ali et al., 2012; Ehring et al., consistency ranging from.84 to.87 (Watson et al., 1988).
2011; Naeem et al., 2011; Zhao et al., 2009) would be signicantly Perceived social support was measured with the emotional/
associated with lower symptom levels. While neither positive nor informational subscale of the Medical Outcome Study (MOS)
negative religious coping showed any signicant associations Social Support Survey (Sherbourne and Stewart, 1991). The
with symptom levels in our previous study, we re-examined the subscale consists of eight questions and scored on a scale of 1
factor in this study due to the larger and more demographically (None of the time) to 5 (All of the time). In scoring, the
diverse sample collected for the present study. Finally, we sought responses are totaled and then multiplied by 100. A higher score
to identify psychosocial factors associated with reported levels of indicates a greater sense of social support. The MOS Social
positive and negative emotions. Support Survey has an internal consistency of .96 (Sherbourne
and Stewart, 1991).
Purpose in life was measured with the Purpose in Life scale
2. Method (Ryff and Keyes, 1995). Each of the eight items is rated from 1
(Strongly disagree) to 6 (Strongly agree) and responses to
2.1. Participants negatively worded items are reversed. A higher score indicates a
higher purpose in life. The scale has an internal consistency of.90
Survivors of the earthquake (161 men and 39 women, mean and a test-retest reliability of.82 (Ryff and Keyes, 1995).
age37.7 years) were recruited by the principal investigator, S.A. Religious coping was measured using the 6-item RCOPE scale
Participants were primarily recruited from the vicinity of Muzaf- (Pargament et al., 2000). The scale consists of three statements
farabad and Balakot in Pakistan. S.A. traveled to several schools measuring positive religious coping (RCOPE-P), and three state-
and other institutions to recruit adult subjects who volunteered ments measuring negative religious coping (RCOPE-N). Responses
to participate without any form of compensation. Participants to each statement are scaled from 0 (Not at all) to 3 (A great
included anyone with exposure to the earthquake who consented deal). Each set of three items are totaled separately, so each
to participate. participant receives one score for RCOPE-P and one score for
RCOPE-N. A higher score on each subscale indicates a greater use
2.2. Procedure of positive or negative religious coping. For the RCOPE-P portion of
the scale, the internal consistency ranges from.87 to.90. For the
The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of RCOPE-N, the internal consistency ranges from.69 to.81 (Pargament
the New York University. Informed consent was obtained from all et al., 2000).
subjects before the self-report questionnaires were administered.
The consent forms were translated into Urdu and were read aloud 2.4. Data analysis
and explained to any illiterate participants before consent was
obtained. All questionnaires were also translated into Urdu and All analyses were performed using SPSS 19.0. Trauma severity
reviewed by a consensus team before they were administered. was estimated in the form of two variables: (a) distance to the
epicenter (in miles) and (b) death of family members. The second
2.3. Materials variable was coded from most (3) to least (0) severe, based on the
potential impact on participants of family deaths, as follows:
All constructs of interest were measured by a self-report ques- 3death of at least a child, grandchild or spouse; 2no deaths in
tionnaire. The questionnaire contained demographic and trauma category 3, but death of at least one sibling or parent; 1 no
exposure information as well as self-report scales to determine the deaths in categories 2 or 3, but death of at least one relative in the
level of PTSD and depressive symptoms, positive and negative affect, extended family; and 0 no deaths in the family.
158 A. Feder et al. / Journal of Affective Disorders 147 (2013) 156163
Zero-order correlations among all of the study variables were TSSC-Depressive symptom subscale scores, and PANAS-P (positive
examined. Due to the low Cronbach alpha values for positive and emotions) and PANAS-N (negative emotions) as dependent vari-
negative religious coping, each item in the R-COPE was treated as ables. For these analyses, demographic characteristics were
a separate variable for both correlations and regression analyses. entered in Step 1, followed by distance from epicenter and loss
Table 3 shows the percentage of responses for each item of the of relatives in Step 2. In Step 3, the last item in the RCOPE-N was
RCOPE. Notably, the majority of the population demonstrated entered. In step 4, the remaining psychosocial variables were
high levels of positive religious coping. Over half of the sample entered, including purpose in life, perceived social support and
agreed strongly with only one item of the RCOPE-N subscale the RCOPE-P. An alpha level of po.05 was used as the test for all
measuring negative religious coping. In preliminary analyses, of analyses.
the three items in the RCOPE_N subscale, only the last item (I feel
God is punishing me for my sins or lack of spirituality) was
signicantly associated with higher total TSSC (PTSD and depres- 3. Results
sive symptoms) score. This last item was thus included in the nal
model in lieu of the full RCOPE-N subscale. For positive religious Table 1 summarizes demographic characteristics and earth-
coping, the full RCOPE-P subscale was included in the nal model. quake exposure. Over half of the participants had some level of
Five hierarchical multivariate linear regression analyses were college education. A large majority of participants sustained home
conducted, with total TSSC symptom scale score, TSSC-PTSD and damage and became homeless as a result of the earthquake.
A third of the sample lost at least one close family member.
Table 1 Table 2 lists mean symptom scale and psychosocial scale scores.
Demographic characteristics and trauma exposure. Almost 65% of the participants met criteria for probable PTSD
(60% of male and over 80% of female participants). Table 3 shows
Variables (n 182200)a the percentage of responses for each item of the RCOPE. Notably,
Age (years), mean (SD) 37.7 (11.7)
the majority of the population demonstrated high levels of
Gender, n (%) positive religious coping. Over half of the sample agreed strongly
Male 161 (80.5%) with only the last item of the RCOPE-N subscale, mentioned above
Marital status, n (%) (I feel God is punishing me for my sins or lack of spirituality).
Married 157 (78.5%)
Table 4 shows the correlation matrix for all variables. Female
Education, n (%)
Illiterate 11 (5.5%) gender and loss of close family members were positively corre-
Below 6th grade 14 (7.0%) lated with total TSSC score, while higher education showed a
6th to 8th grade 17 (8.5%) negative correlation with total TSSC score. Further, loss of close
High school graduate 37 (18.5%) family members was also positively correlated with negative
Some college 83 (41.5%)
College graduate 38 (19.0%)
emotions, and higher education was positively correlated with
Distance from Epicenter (miles), mean (SD) 29.2 (25.6) positive emotions and negatively correlated with negative emo-
Sustained home damage, n (%) 183 (91.5%) tions. Purpose in life was negatively correlated with total TSSC
Became homeless, n (%) 163 (81.5%) score and negative emotions, and positively correlated with
Family deaths, n (%)
positive emotions. Two items of the negative religious coping
0. No relatives were lost 87 (43.5%)
1. Lost at least one relative but no deaths in categories 46 (23.0%) subscale were each signicantly positively correlated with total
2 or 3 TSSC scores: I express my anger at God and I feel God is
2. Lost at least one close relative (sister, parent) 40 (20.0%) punishing me for my sins or lack of faith. Both statements were
but no deaths in category 3 also signicantly negatively correlated with purpose in life.
3. Lost at least one very close relative (spouse, child, 27 (13.5%)
grandchild)
Higher perceived social support was positively correlated with
female gender, higher education and positive emotions, and
a
n varies due to missing data. negatively correlated with negative emotions.
Table 2
Psychometric properties for TSSC scores and psychosocial variables.
n192198a
a
n varies due to missing data. TSSC Traumatic Stress Symptom Checklist; PTSD posttraumatic stress disorder; PANAS Positive and negative
affect schedule.
b
Probable PTSD was assigned to any participant whose mean TSSC-PTSD subscale score was at least 25.
A. Feder et al. / Journal of Affective Disorders 147 (2013) 156163 159
Table 3
Percentage of Responses on Items of the RCOPE (n193197)a.
Items Not at all (%) A little bit (%) Moderately (%) A great deal (%)
a
n varies due to missing data.
b
Items in the RCOPE positive religious coping subscale.
c
Items in the RCOPE negative religious coping subscale.
Table 4
Correlation matrix between all variables.
Variables 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
1
2 .28nnn
3 .17n .50nnn
4 .12 .12 .07
5 .04 .08 .24nn .02
6 .07 .13 .10 .30nnn .02
7 .02 .12 .04 .06 .02 .11
8 .15n .01 .02 .11 .06 .06 .003
9 .003 .07 .06 .10 .04 .06 .08 .04
10 .01 .03 .001 .24nn .06 .13 .17n .13 .25nn
11 .004 .12 .07 .17n .07 .13 .10 .13 .27nnn .18n
12 .15n .10 .04 .30nnn .05 .13 .02 .16n .05 .08 .13
13 .25nnn .08 .05 .26nnn .04 .26nnn .08 .06 .15n .22nn .32nnn .07
14 .28nnn .08 .06 .24nn .07 .25nnn .05 .06 .15n .21nn . .28nnn .06 .98nnn
15 .14 .07 .05 .23nn .06 .26nnn .13 .08 .11 .23nn .36nnn .11 .88nnn .77nnn
16 .10 .02 .13 .18n .01 .02 .02 .04 .04 .17n .29nnn .30nnn .24nn .23nn .24nn
17 .05 .05 .12 .40nnn .10 .19nn .01 .07 .16n .33nnn .35nnn .23nn .64nnn .61nnn .61nnn .24nn
Note. 1. Gender; 2. Age; 3. Marital Status; 4.Education; 5. Distance from epicenter; 6. Loss of close relatives; 7. RCOPE-P (positive religious coping); 8. RCOPE item 2
(I wonder whether God has abandoned me); 9. RCOPE item 4 (I express my anger at God);10. RCOPE item 6 (I feel God is punishing me for my sins or lack of spirituality); 11.
Purpose in life; 12. Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey; 13. Traumatic Stress Symptom Checklist (TSSC)-total; 14. TSSC-PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder)
subscale; 15. TSSC-Depression subscale; 16. positive and negative affect schedule (PANAS)-positive; 17. PANAS-negative.
n
p o .05.
nn
p o.01.
nnn
p o.001.
Six preliminary regressions were run for each item of the Of note, these associations remained signicant even after adjusting
RCOPE after adjusting for demographic and trauma exposure. for total TSSC score (symptom levels) (not shown). After the addition
Only the last item of the RCOPE-N (I feel God is punishing me for of all psychosocial variables, however, level of education was no
my sins or lack of spirituality) was signicantly associated with a longer signicantly associated with positive emotions.
higher TSSC score. In the nal model predicting total TSSC score In analyses with self-reported negative emotions as the
(see Table 5), female gender, lower level of education and loss of dependent variable (see Table 6), higher education was inversely
close family members were signicantly associated with higher associated with negative emotions. In the nal model, higher
TSSC score. After adjusting for demographic characteristics, dis- education and higher purpose in life were inversely associated
tance from the epicenter and loss of close family members, the with negative emotions, while a higher score on the last item of
last item of the RCOPE-N (I feel God is punishing me for my sins or the RCOPE-N was signicantly associated with higher negative
lack of spirituality) was signicantly associated with higher TSSC emotions.
score. After adding the remaining psychosocial factors, purpose in
life was signicantly associated with lower total TSSC score; the
last item of the RCOPE-N remained associated with higher TSSC 4. Discussion
score at the trend level. Similar predictors were associated with
higher TSSC-PTSD and TSSC-depression subscale scores, with a Over half of the participants (64.6%) met criteria for probable
few differences (see Table 5). PTSD three years after the event, a nding which lies on the higher
In analyses with self-reported positive emotions as the dependent end within the range of 10% to 87% of reported PTSD prevalence
variable (see Table 6), higher education was signicantly associated from other earthquakes (Goenjian et al., 1994; Goenjian et al., 2000;
with higher positive emotions, while female gender was inversely Kessler et al., 1995; Kuo et al., 2007; McMillen et al., 2000). Findings
associated with positive emotions at the trend level. In the nal that female gender, lower education and loss of close family
model predicting self-reported positive emotions, after adjusting for members were associated with higher posttraumatic symptom
demographic characteristics, distance from epicenter and death of levels in earthquake survivors replicate previous ndings from our
family members, higher purpose in life and higher perceived social work and several others (Ahmad et al., 2010; Ali et al., 2012;
support were signicantly associated with higher positive emotions. Basoglu et al., 2001; Galea et al., 2005).
160 A. Feder et al. / Journal of Affective Disorders 147 (2013) 156163
Table 5
Hierarchical regression analysis for variables associated with total TSSC scores, and TSSC-PTSD and TSSC-depression subscale scores
(n 175179)a.
a
n varies due to missing data; TSSC Traumatic Stress Symptom Checklist; PTSD posttraumatic stress disorder; RCOPE item 6 I feel
God is punishing me for my sins or lack of spirituality; MOS-SSS Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey, emotional/information
subscale; R-COPE positive positive religious coping.
y
p o.10.
n
po .05.
nn
p o .01.
nnn
p o .001.
Additionally, the current study found a higher purpose in life 4.1. Purpose in life
to be associated with lower symptom levels and higher self-
reported positive emotions. A particular form of negative religious A higher sense of purpose in life was associated with both
coping, i.e., a feeling of being punished by God for ones sins or lower PTSD and depressive symptom levels in this sample. Closely
lack of spirituality, was signicantly associated with higher related to having a sense of purpose is the concept of nding
symptom levels, and this association remained at the trend level meaning in life, which has been theorized to be important in
after adjusting for purpose in life. Finally, higher perceived social resilience after signicant adversity, beginning with the writings
support, while not associated with symptom levels, was asso- of Viktor Frankl (1959), a concentration camp survivor. Traumatic
ciated with higher self-reported positive emotions. Associations experiences directly and often violently confront an individuals
with negative emotions generally paralleled those of posttrau- worldview and assumptions about life (Janoff-Bulman, 1992). It is
matic symptom levels. thought that successful recovery from trauma involves integrat-
The high prevalence of probable PTSD compared to that in ing the traumatic experience into their worldview, thus main-
other studies of disaster survivors (Neria et al., 2008) may relate taining or regaining a sense of purpose in life.
to the lack of preparation and resources, as well as to the high While nding meaning or purpose after severe trauma has
percentage of survivors in our sample who lost their homes been an important concept in the clinical and theoretical litera-
during the earthquake. As hypothesized, female gender is sig- ture, little empirical research has been done on the subject. In our
nicantly associated with higher trauma symptom levels in the previous study of African Americans with high levels of trauma
current study. This result supports similar ndings from previous exposure, a higher sense of purpose in life was the psychosocial
studies done on this population (Ahmad et al., 2010; Niaz et al., factor that most strongly differentiated the resilient and currently
2007; Suhail et al., 2009) as well as earthquake studies done on psychiatrically ill groups, and also signicantly differentiated the
both non-Western (Basoglu et al., 2001; Karanci and Rustemli, recovered from the currently ill groups (Alim et al., 2008). The
1995) and Western (Benight et al., 1999) populations. Lower present study demonstrates a similar association between a sense
education and death of close family members were both signi- of purpose and lower symptom levels in trauma survivors from a
cantly associated with higher symptom levels, consistent with very different culture, suggesting that this potentially protective
ndings of previous earthquake studies (Priebe et al., 2009; Wan factor may be universal. Suhail et al., 2009 found in their sample
Chan et al., 2011; Wang et al., 2011; Xu and Song, 2011). Unlike in of the Pakistan earthquake survivors a high percentage of those
the previous waves of this study, further distance from the suffering from PTSD symptoms as well as a general reported
epicenter was not signicantly associated with lower symptom mood of purposeless, no hope for the future, and the emptiness
levels. of life.
A. Feder et al. / Journal of Affective Disorders 147 (2013) 156163 161
Of the three aspects of negative religious coping measured in 4.3. Social support
this sample, feeling abandoned by God, expressing anger at God,
and a feeling of being punished by God for ones sins or lack of While perceived social support was not signicantly asso-
spirituality, the third item was endorsed by over half of the ciated with PTSD symptom levels, it was signicantly associated
respondents. After adjusting for demographic characteristics and with self-reported positive emotions. Social support has been
trauma severity, it was only this particular form of negative linked to better wellbeing and health in a range of populations,
162 A. Feder et al. / Journal of Affective Disorders 147 (2013) 156163
and has been found to foster adaptive coping (Charuvastra and Ano, G.G., Vasconcelles, E.B., 2005. Religious coping and psychological adjustment
Cloitre, 2008; Southwick et al., 2005). In prior studies of earth- to stress: a meta-analysis. Journal of Clinical Psychology 61, 461480.
Basoglu, M., Salcioglu, E., Livanou, M., Ozeren, M., Aker, T., Kilic, C., Mestcioglu, O.,
quake survivors, social support was associated with positive 2001. A study of the validity of a screening instrument for traumatic stress in
adjustment, better quality of life and more adaptive coping earthquake survivors in Turkey. Journal of Traumatic Stress 14, 491509.
strategies (Ke et al., 2010; Tang, 2006; Wang et al., 2011) and Benight, C.C., Swift, E., Sanger, J., Smith, A., Zeppelin, D., 1999. Coping self-efcacy
as a mediator of distress following a natural disaster. Journal of Applied Social
lower PTSD symptom levels in several studies of earthquake
Psychology 29, 24432464.
survivors in Pakistan (Ali et al., 2012; Ehring et al., 2011; Charuvastra, A., Cloitre, M., 2008. Social bonds and posttraumatic stress disorder.
Naeem et al., 2011) and other countries (Altindag et al., 2005; Annual Review of Psychology 59, 301328.
Benight et al., 1999; Xu and Song, 2011), but not all studies of Cohn, M.A., Fredrickson, B.L., Brown, S.L., Mikels, J.A., Conway, A.M., 2009.
Happiness unpacked: positive emotions increase life satisfaction by building
earthquake survivors (Klc- et al., 2006). A study that examined a resilience. Emotion 9, 361368.
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a strong predictor of subjective wellbeing in this culture (Suhail well-being after spinal cord injury: perception of loss and meaning making.
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This study investigated risk and potentially protective factors posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and burnout in Pakistani
for PTSD and depressive symptoms in Pakistani earthquake earthquake recovery workers. Psychiatry Research 185, 161166.
survivors with no or limited access to mental health intervention. Feder, A., Nestler, E.J., Charney, D.S., 2009. Psychobiology and molecular genetics of
resilience. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 10, 446457.
Limitations include the recruitment of a sample of convenience, a Folkman, S., 2008. The case for positive emotions in the stress process. Anxiety,
modest sample size, and the cross-sectional nature of the study. Stress & Coping 21, 314.
Future longitudinal studies should be conducted to clarify causal Frankl, V.E., 1959. Mans Search for Meaning. Beacon Press, Boston, MA.
Fredrickson, B.L., 2001. The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: the
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on earthquake survivors in general. We show a high prevalence of
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PTSD symptom levels and negative emotions are linked to the use R.S., 2000. Prospective study of posttraumatic stress, anxiety, and depressive
reactions after earthquake and political violence. American Journal of Psy-
of a particular form of negative religious coping, a nding that has
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begun to emerge in earthquake survivors from populations and Hashmi, S., Petraro, P., Rizzo, T., Nawaz, H., Choudhary, R., Tessier-Sherman, B.,
countries where religion is central to the culture. Findings from Kasl, S., Nawaz, H., 2011. Symptoms of anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic
our study and others can inform the development of preventive stress among survivors of the 2005 Pakistani earthquake. Disaster Medicine
and Public Health Preparedness 5, 293299.
and treatment interventions for earthquake survivors, as Pakistan Hoge, E.A., Austin, E.D., Pollack, M.H., 2007. Resilience: research evidence and
continues to move forward in developing its mental health care conceptual considerations for posttraumatic stress disorder. Depression and
services. Anxiety 24, 139152.
Irmansyah, I., Dharmono, S., Maramis, A., Minas, H., 2010. Determinants of
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Role of funding source
Janoff-Bulman, R., 1992. Shattered Assumptions: Towards a New Psychology of
There was no funding source for this study (funded by investigators Trauma. Free Press, New York.
themselves). Karanci, A.N., Rustemli, A., 1995. Psychological consequences of the 1992 Erzincan
(Turkey) earthquake. Disasters 19, 818.
Ke, X., Liu, C., Li, N., 2010. Social support and quality of life: a cross-sectional study
Conict of interest on survivors eight months after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. BMC Public
The authors have no conicts of interest to report. Health 10 573-573.
Kessler, R.C., Sonnega, A., Bromet, E., Hughes, M., et al., 1995. Posttraumatic stress
disorder in the National Comorbidity Survey. Archives of General Psychiatry
52, 10481060.
Acknowledgements
Klc- , C., Aydn, _I., Tas-kntuna, N., Ozc- urumez, G., Kurt, G., Eren, E., Lale, T., Ozel, S.,
The authors wish to thank the following individuals in Pakistan whose
Zileli, L., 2006. Predictors of psychological distress in survivors of the 1999
contributions helped us with data collection and recruitment logistics: Shahid-
earthquakes in Turkey: effects of relocation after the disaster. Acta Psychia-
Ghafoor, MBBS, Khalid Hussain, and Nisar Ahmad. Special thanks to RiffatAra
trica Scandinavica 114, 194202.
Ahmad, MBBS, AamirSajjadHaider, and SahidGhafoor, MBBS, for assistance with Koenig, H.G., 2009. Research on religion, spirituality, and mental health: a review.
translation services. We also thank William Taboas, MA, and Gerardo Acosta for Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 54, 283291.
assisting with data entry and verication. Kuo, H.W., Wu, S.J., Ma, T.C., Chiu, M., Chou, S., 2007. Posttraumatic symptoms
were worst among quake victims with injuries following the Chi-chi quake in
Taiwan. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 62, 495500.
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