Trajectories of mental health symptoms predict long-term quality of life among Wenchuan adolescent survivors: A 10-year follow-up study.
10.1016/j.cjtee.2021.03.006
- VernacularTitle:Trajectories of mental health symptoms predict long-term quality of life among Wenchuan adolescent survivors: A 10-year follow-up study
- Author:
Zi-Juan MA
1
;
Xiao-Yan CHEN
1
;
Tong WANG
1
;
Shu-Ling XU
1
;
Min JIANG
1
;
Fang FAN
2
Author Information
1. School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China; Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, China.
2. School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China; Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, China. Electronic address: fangfan@scnu.edu.cn.
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Anxiety;
Depression;
Longitudinal study;
Posttraumatic stress symptoms;
Quality of life;
Wenchuan earthquake
- From:
Chinese Journal of Traumatology
2021;24(4):214-220
- CountryChina
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
PURPOSE:Previous studies usually examine the associations between psychological distresses and quality of life (QOL) with a variable-centred approach, while little is known about the effect of the individual variance in time-varying changes of psychological distresses on QOL. Therefore, this study aimed to examine whether individual variance in psychological distresses during the early phases post-earthquake would develop different QOL's levels among adolescent survivors 10-year after the Wenchuan earthquake.
METHODS:Data were extracted from the Wenchuan Earthquake Adolescent Health Cohort Study. The current study included 744 adolescent survivors who effectively completed surveys at 6 months, 24 months, and 10 years after the earthquake. Self-report questionnaires were administered to collect information on socio-demographic characteristics, earthquake exposure, life events, anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), and QOL. Data were analysed using hierarchical multiple regression.
RESULTS:Trajectories of psychological distresses were classified as follow: resistance (anxiety 40.73%; depression 54.70%; PTSS 74.46%), recovery (anxiety 17.20%; depression 9.27%; PTSS 10.35%), delayed dysfunction (anxiety 10.35%; depression 18.15%; PTSS 6.18%), and chronicity (anxiety 31.72%; depression 17.88%; PTSS 9.01%). After controlling covariates, hierarchical multiple regression only revealed that the anxiety trajectory with delayed dysfunction remained significantly predictive for four domains of QOL (physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environment).
CONCLUSION:The current study highlights the importance of focusing on the variations in trajectories of anxiety symptoms among disaster survivors and providing individualized mental health services to improve survivors' QOL.
