The Relationship between the Earthquake Experience and the Severity of Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: the Role of Collective Efficacy

Doživljavanje prirodnih katastrofa poput potresa, pravi je primjer ekstremnog traumatskog iskustva. Upravo takvo iskustvo doživjeli su stanovnici u blizini i okolici epicentra u Petrinji, u prosincu 2020. godine. Nakon svjedočenja elementarnoj nepogodi, određeni broj osoba u opasnosti je od razvoja simptoma posttraumatskog stresnog poremećaja. Kao najčešći simptom posttraumatskog stresnog poremećaja navodi se ponovno proživljavanje traume, a manifestira se putem intruzivnih uznemirujućih prisjećanja i snova, ponašanja ili osjećaja Određena su istraživanja pronašla postojanje izravne poveznice iskustva potresa i razvoja simptoma PTSP-a, pri čemu izraženije iskustvo potresa uvjetuje i jače izrađene psihološke simptome. Još jedan važan faktor koji može utjecati na izraženost psiholoških simptoma nakon traume jest percepcija kolektivne učinkovitosti, a označava osjećaj pripadnosti grupi čije su akcije prethodno dovele do pozitivnih ishoda. Stoga je cilj ovog istraživanja bio ispitati izraženost simptoma posttraumatskog stresnog poremećaja na uzroku sudionika koji su doživjeli potres 29. prosinca 2020. godine s epicentrom kod Petrinje te ispitati postoje li dobne i spolne razlike u izraženosti simptpoma posttraumatskog stresnog poremećaja u tih sudionika. Nadalje, cilj je i ispitati odnos između iskustva potresa i izraženost simptoma posttraumatskog stresnog poremećaja, kao i ulogu kolektivne učinkovitosti u tom odnosu. U istraživanju je sudjelovalo 374 sudionika u dobi od 18 do 64 godine. Korišteni su instrumenti: Upitnik iskustva potresa (Nolen-Hoeksema i Morrow, 1991), Skala posttraumatskih simptoma (PCL, Weathers i sur., 2013) te Skala kolektivne učinkovitosti (Benight, 2004). Rezultati su pokazali kako postoji umjerena izraženost simptoma posttraumatskog stresnog poremećaja pri čemu žene izvještavaju o višoj izraženosti simptoma u odnosu na muškarce. Dobne razlike nisu se pokazale značajnima. Iskustvo potresa pokazalo se izravno značajno povezanim sa simptomima PTSP-a, dok se neizravni učinak iskustva potresa na simptome PTSP-a preko kolektivne učinkovitosti nije pokazao statistički značajnim.Surviving natural disasters such as earthquake, is a true example of an extreme traumatic experience. Exactly that kind of experience felt the residents nearby epicenter in Petrinja, in December 2020. After surviving a natural disaster, certain number of people are in danger of developing symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. The most common symptom is considered to be reliving the trauma, manifested through intrusive thoughts and dreams, behavior or feelings. Some research found the existence of the direct bond between the earthquake experience and development of PTSD symptoms. Another important factor that could have an impact on severity of PTSD symptoms is perception of collective efficacy, which is defined as the sense of belonging to a group whose actions have previously led to positive outcomes. Keeping that in mind, the goal of this research paper was to examine the severity of PTSD symptoms in survivors of the Petrinja earthquake in December 2020 and the possible differences in symptom severity depending on gender and age. Also, the goal was to examine the relationship between the earthquake experience and severity of PTSD symptoms, as the role of collective efficacy in that relationship. This research consisted of 374 participants, age 18 to 64. Participants completed Earthquake experience measure (Nolen-Hoeksema i Morrow, 1991), Scale of posttraumatic symptoms (PCL-5, Weathers i sur., 2013) and Scale of collective efficacy (Benight, 2004). The results of the study showed the existence of moderate severity of PTSD symptoms, with women reporting about more severe symptoms than men. Age differences were not significant. The earthquake experience has shown to be directly connected to severity of PTSD symptoms, while the indirect effect of earthquake experience on PTSD symptoms through collective efficacy has shown not to be statistically significant