Psychological Impact of the earthquake 2023 in Turkey

Abstract Background The Turkish and Syrian earthquake on February 6th 2023 was the deadliest earthquakes in the last decade. It affected approximately 26 million people and left at least 50.000 dead. In this paper, we analyzed the psychological impact and the relationship between mental health factors, earthquake related experiences and stressors and resources related to the earthquake, four months after the event Methods We conducted an analytical cross-sectional study, applying a survey to 320 adults (1–93 years old) in Adiyaman, Turkey. PTSD-Symptoms, general psychiatric morbidity, suicidality and drug abuse, as well as post traumatic growth were assessed via the PC-PTSD, GHQ-12 together with questions focusing on the earthquake experience, related stressors and support received. Results We found a high prevalence of general mental health symptoms including those of PTSD. Fear of aftershocks and the loss of close family members were found to be risk factors for such symptoms. We didn’t find significant differences in the GHQ or the PTSD symptom scores when considering ethnicity, religion or income. Conclusions High levels of psychiatric stress and PTSD symptoms were found four months after the earthquake, as could be expected, and need to be addressed in all groups independent from religious, social or ethnic background. Results indicate a large psychiatric and material burden on the entire sample and indicated some priority needs.