Aki Yazawa1, Jun Aida2, Katsunori Kondo3, Ichiro Kawachi4. 1. Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Center for Clinical Sciences, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. Electronic address: aki.yazawa@gmail.com. 2. Department of Oral Health Promotion, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan; Division for Regional Community Development, Liaison Center for Innovative Dentistry, Graduate School of Dentistry, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan. 3. Department of Social Preventive Medical Sciences, Center for Preventive Medical Sciences, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan; Department of Gerontological Evaluation, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Obu, Aichi, Japan. 4. Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Women have been observed to have a higher risk of developing posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) after disaster compared to men. In a study of survivors of an earthquake, we sought to investigate: whether there was differential exposure to disaster-related trauma by gender; whether women and men have differential vulnerability to trauma; and what factors could explain the gender difference in PTSS. METHODS: Data from a cohort of community-dwelling older survivors of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami was used. Data were obtained before (2010) and 2.5-years after the disaster (n = 3,334). RESULTS: Women suffered 1.6 times higher prevalence of PTSS than men (31.0% vs. 19.4%). Women were more likely to experience loss of relatives (29.2% vs. 23.2%), while men were more likely to report loss of friends (17.1% vs. 14.5%) and separation from work (7.5% vs. 4.6%). We did not find evidence for differential vulnerability to disaster-related trauma. Indeed, the gender gap in PTSS was larger among individuals who did not experience trauma. Women experienced greater deterioration of non-kin instrumental support, which significantly mediated the association between gender and PTSS. LIMITATIONS: We have no information on PTSS prior to the earthquake. Nor do we have clinician diagnoses of PTSD. CONCLUSIONS: Women experienced housing damages and loss of relatives more often than men, which explained ∼21% of the gender gap in PTSS after disaster. Women reported more non-kin support prior to the disaster, but they also experienced greater deterioration of it, which explained ∼21% of the gender gap.
BACKGROUND: Women have been observed to have a higher risk of developing posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) after disaster compared to men. In a study of survivors of an earthquake, we sought to investigate: whether there was differential exposure to disaster-related trauma by gender; whether women and men have differential vulnerability to trauma; and what factors could explain the gender difference in PTSS. METHODS: Data from a cohort of community-dwelling older survivors of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami was used. Data were obtained before (2010) and 2.5-years after the disaster (n = 3,334). RESULTS: Women suffered 1.6 times higher prevalence of PTSS than men (31.0% vs. 19.4%). Women were more likely to experience loss of relatives (29.2% vs. 23.2%), while men were more likely to report loss of friends (17.1% vs. 14.5%) and separation from work (7.5% vs. 4.6%). We did not find evidence for differential vulnerability to disaster-related trauma. Indeed, the gender gap in PTSS was larger among individuals who did not experience trauma. Women experienced greater deterioration of non-kin instrumental support, which significantly mediated the association between gender and PTSS. LIMITATIONS: We have no information on PTSS prior to the earthquake. Nor do we have clinician diagnoses of PTSD. CONCLUSIONS: Women experienced housing damages and loss of relatives more often than men, which explained ∼21% of the gender gap in PTSS after disaster. Women reported more non-kin support prior to the disaster, but they also experienced greater deterioration of it, which explained ∼21% of the gender gap.
Authors: Adriana Feder; Samoon Ahmad; Elisa J Lee; Julia E Morgan; Ritika Singh; Bruce W Smith; Steven M Southwick; Dennis S Charney Journal: J Affect Disord Date: 2012-11-27 Impact factor: 4.839