Predictors of Post-traumatic Stress Among Individuals Who Survived the February 2023 Earthquakes in Turkey

Predictors of Post-traumatic Stress Among Individuals Who Survived the February 2023 Earthquakes in Turkey

Psychology

Yagmur Tekten

2024

Professor Robin Goodwin

The present study examined whether flexibility, resource loss/gain, and the ability to maintain daily routines predict post-traumatic stress (PTS) among survivors of the 2023 Turkey earthquakes. We also explored whether post-traumatic stress levels differ by gender (female vs male). Forty-nine earthquake survivors were recruited to complete online questionnaires measuring PTS, cognitive flexibility, flexibility mindset, resource changes, and everyday routine maintenance. Multiple regression analyses indicated that none of these variables significantly predicted PTS (p = .704). Independent samples t-test suggested that females reported significantly higher PTS levels than males, t(20) = 2.27, p = .035. While the findings did not support previous research linking these factors to post-traumatic stress (possibly due to the small sample size) they highlight significant gender differences. Future research should involve larger samples, explore additional factors contributing to post-traumatic stress, and investigate the underlying reasons on females reporting greater post-traumatic stress compared to males.

Earthquake, post-traumatic stress, Turkey, 2023