THE PSYCHOSOCIAL IMPACT OF AN EARTHQUAKE ON THE ELDERLY

The psychosocial effects of an earthquake which occurred in Newcastle, Australia in 1989 are the focus of the Quake Impact Study, a four-pha se community survey conducted over 2 years. Comparisons were made betw een adults aged less than 65 years (N = 2371) and those aged 65 years and older (N = 636). Results revealed that older subjects reported few er threat and disruption experiences and used fewer general and disast er-related support services. However, older subjects reported higher o verall levels of post-traumatic stress symptoms on the Impact of Event Scale (IES) compared with younger subjects. On both the IES and a gen eral measure of morbidity (General Health Questionnaire: GHQ-12) the e ffects of earthquake exposure were more marked among the elderly. With in the older group, subjects who had high levels of post-traumatic str ess symptoms (IES > 25, N = 117) were more likely to be female, report higher levels of exposure and use behavioural and avoidance coping st yles. Although psychological distress declined with time, post-traumat ic stress symptoms remained higher for the high exposure group through out the study. We conclude that older people may be more at risk for e xperiencing post-traumatic stress reactions despite having fewer disas ter-related experiences. They may also underutilize support services f ollowing a disaster. Older women in particular and people with an avoi dance coping style appear to be most vulnerable.