TH PSYCHOLOGICAL CTS O AN ARTHQUAK ON TURKISH COLLG STUDNTS

Abstract

<p style="text-align:justify">On August 17th, 1999, an earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale killed approximately 15,000 people in Turkey. The effects of this earthquake on 420 Turkish college students were investigated by the Impact of vents Scale-Revised (IS-R; Weiss & Marmar, 1997) and some demographic questions. Subjects' responses were studied in terms of intrusion, avoidance, and hyperarousal. Results show that students had intense experiences related to the event. More specifically, women showed more symptoms compared to men; displayed significantly more indications of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); and showed more vulnerability. The present study showed that higher achieving students were affected more severely than lower achieving counterparts from the earthquake. Results were discussed in relation to the relevant literature.</p>