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El Salvador earthquakes: Relationships among acute stress disorder symptoms, depression, traumatic event exposure, and resource loss
Author(s) -
Sattler David N.,
de Alvarado Ana Maria Glower,
de Castro Norma Blandon,
Male Robert Van,
Zetino A. M.,
Vega Raphael
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1002/jts.20174
Subject(s) - conservation of resources theory , demographics , depression (economics) , psychology , coping (psychology) , social support , posttraumatic stress , clinical psychology , psychiatry , acute stress disorder , demography , social psychology , sociology , economics , macroeconomics
Four and seven weeks after powerful earthquakes in El Salvador, the authors examined the relationships among demographics, traumatic event exposure, social support, resource loss, acute stress disorder (ASD) symptoms, depression, and posttraumatic growth. Participants were 253 college students (Study 1) and 83 people in the community (Study 2). In Study 1, female gender, traumatic event exposure, low social support, and loss of personal characteristic, condition, and energy resources contributed to ASD symptoms and depression. In Study 2, damage to home and loss of personal characteristic and object resources contributed to ASD symptoms and depression. Posttraumatic growth was not associated with ASD symptoms or depression. Findings support the conservation of resources stress theory (Hobfoll, 1998). Resource loss spirals, excessive demands on coping, and exposure to multiple disasters are discussed.