After the Wenchuan

The authors sought to examine the posttraumatic impact among Qiang women aged 18 years or older in 2 villages of Maoxian county 1 year after the Wenchuan earthquake and determined the variables associated with mental health status and posttraumatic symptoms for further psychological interventions. They interviewed 270 Qiang women. Psychological health status was assessed using the Chinese Health Questionnaire (CHQ-12). Posttraumatic symptoms were assessed using the Impact of Event Scale–Revised (IES-R), Chinese version. The results showed that 141 (52.2%) of the participants had psychological problems. The widowed and those who witnessed casualty scored higher on the CHQ-12. Among those surveyed, 100 (37.0%) women’s mean intrusion subscale scores were ≥2; for 71 (26.3%) women, the mean avoidance score was ≥2; and for 88 (32.6%), the mean hyperarousal score was ≥2. Also, 23 (8.5%) women had scores ≥2 on all the 3 subscales. Those who had no job, were injured, and had witnessed casualties scored higher on each subscale of the IES-R