Psychiatric characteristics of child survivors after the Kahramanmaraş double earthquake

The two strongest earthquakes in Turkey for eight decades hit Kahramanmaraş province on February 6, 2023. This study aimed to determine psychiatric complaints, acute stress symptoms, anxiety, depression, and sleep characteristics in children who were treated in a tertiary inpatient pediatric unit after the earthquakes. They were evaluated in the fourth week after the earthquake.

Trauma experiences and acute stress disorders were evaluated by child and adolescent psychiatrists, sleep characteristics were examined by the Child Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ), and the anxiety and depressive symptoms were investigated using the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS). Forty-two patients aged 1-17 were included.

Trauma experiences and acute stress disorder symptoms were similar for all age groups examined. There were no significant differences in RCADS or CSHQ scores based on age or gender groups. There were significant differences in RCADS scores when the children were grouped as having parental loss or not and, similarly, there were significant differences in sleep anxiety and resistance to bedtime in CSHQ between these children.

This research offered baseline findings about psychological outcomes after these earthquakes in child survivors, and it may provide a further basis to assess the effect of psychological interventions after earthquakes. These results may offer a foundation for suitable psychological interventions for children in developing countries.