Study On The Negative Emotions And Related Factors In Military Rescuers With Post-traumatic Stress Disorder After Wen Chuan Earthquake

Objective:After the Wen Chuan earthquake,several studies have indicated that military responders are at increased risk for posttraumatic stress disorder(PTSD), but little is known about the impact of the anxiety and depression status in military rescuers with PTSD. In this paper, we investigate the anxiety and depression status in military rescuers with PTSD6months after Wen Chuan earthquake, and analyze the related factors, hence provide the scientific basis for targeted psychological intervention.Methods:A sample of1125military rescuers was obtained by cluster sampling method. All subjects were investigated by the general situation questionnaire, Davidson Trauma Scale(DTS), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Beck epression Inventory-Ⅱ(BDI-Ⅱ) and Earthquake Experiences Scale (EES). The PTSD were examined with DTS, and according to the DTS score of>40or<40, all subjects were divided into PTSD group and non-PTSD group. The scores of BAI and BDI in the two groups were compared. Correlations between scores of BAI/BDI-Ⅱ and related factors in PTSD group. The results were analyzed with two-samples t test, χ2test,Pearson’s correlation coefficient test and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient test.For all analyses, the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, version13.0.1for Windows was used.Results:1. The final analysis was carried out on1056military rescuers. The prevalence of PTSD was6.5%(69cases).2. The occurrence rate of anxiety was higher in PTSD group(91.3%) than that in non-PTSD group (19.4%)(P<0.01);The occurrence rate of depression were higher in PTSD group (76.8%) than that in non-PTSD group(23.8%)(P<0.01).3. The BAI/BDI-Ⅱ total scores, the score and frequency of each anxiety/depression symptom were higher in PTSD group than those in non-PTSD group (P<0.05or P<0.01); The occurrence rate of suicidal intention was higher in PTSD group (50.7%) than that in non-PTSD group(8.8%)(P<0.01).4. Pearson’s correlation coefficient test showed that EES score was not correlated with BAI and BDI-Ⅱ scores((r=0.070、P=0.567, r=0.077、P=0.529, respectively). Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient test showed that military age,being from a single-child family, smoking, drinking, sources of troops et al were not correlated with BAI and BDI-Ⅱ scores (r=-0.030-0.135, all P>0.05).Conclusions:The military rescuers with PTSD after the earthquake have higher anxiety and depression levels,and have more frequent and prominent anxiety and depression symtoms, and have more frequent and prominent suicidal intention. They should be given a timely and targeted psychological intervention or treatment. The correlation analysis showed that military age, being from a single-child family, smoking, drinking,sources of troops et al were not correlated with negative emotion expression. This may be due to small sample size of PTSD group and other factors. Further studies are necessary to elucidate the roles of these factors mentioned above.