Psychological consequences of the 1992 Erzincan (Turkey) earthquake

The long-term psychological after-effects of the 1992 Erzincan earthquake are examined. 461 subjects from Erzincan were administered a semi-structured interview. Emotional distress was measured by a symptom checklist containing 40 items. 129 subjects from Ankara, the capital of Turkey, were also used as a comparison sample. The factor analysis revealed that distress symptoms can be grouped into phobic anxiety, somatization, depression and hostility. The comparison of the Erzincan and Ankara samples showed that the Erzincan sample had higher phobic anxiety scores, the females from Erzincan had higher distress as compared to the males from Erzincan and to both males and females from Ankara. Regression analyses showed that being female and evaluating one's home as insecure against future earthquakes were related to elevated levels of distress. Results showed that, even after sixteen months, Erzincan residents had higher phobic anxiety and that females seemed to be especially vulnerable to distress. Implications of the results for psychosocial intervention are discussed.