Cohort Profile: The Wenchuan Earthquake Adolescent Health Cohort Study

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Exposure to a major earthquake is a rather traumatic experience, which may induce multiple stressors, including: severe injury to self or loved ones, bereavement, direct witness of mutilated bodies or other tragic scenes, property damage and other perceived life threats or psychophysical distress during the earthquake. Mental health problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety are prevalent among earthquake survivors, especially among children and adolescents.1,2 In recent years, however, there is a growing consensus that large individual variation exists in long-term post-trauma adaptation.3,4 People may develop different mental health problems or disorders. The severity and recovering trajectory of these problems may be different as well. Typical examples may include ‘chronic-dysfunction’ (moderate or severe symptoms over time), ‘delayed-dysfunction’ (initially minimal/no symptoms followed by elevated symptoms) or ‘relapsing/remitting’ (symptoms displaying a cyclical course).5,6 Some people may adjust well to the stressors with a gradual recovery from symptoms, or even achieve a post-traumatic growth with positive changes in mental and/or social functions such as higher self-efficacy, improved spirituality and closer interpersonal relationships.7 Numerous studies have discussed factors related to post-trauma adaptation, such as the severity of traumatic exposure, pre-existing individual characteristics (e.g. sex, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, history of psychopathology) and psychological resources that may affect one’s vulnerability and responses to stress (e.g. dispositional resilience, perceived social support, coping styles, sense of gratitude).8,9 Many efforts are also being made to examine the neurobiological or genetic mechanisms implicated in post-trauma mental disorders.10,11