Mental health and coping styles of children and adolescent survivors one year after the 2008 Chinese earthquake

The objective of the study was to investigate the post-traumatic psychological reactions of children and adolescents of 2008 Chinese earthquake in two samples from a highly exposed area (HEA) (n = 188) and a lowly exposed area (LEA) (n = 235). One year after the earthquake, 423 individuals were randomly selected to form two representative samples and were approached with two self-report psychological questionnaires, Mental Health Scale (MHS) and Coping Scale (CS). They suggested that the mental health and coping styles were significantly different for children and adolescents from HEA and LEA. Highly exposed group experienced higher levels of mental health problems than lowly exposed group. Girls were more vulnerable than boys in HEA. Exposure areas, Self-blaming, Rationalization, Fantasy, Avoiding and Ask for help coping style were the significant determinants of mental health. They predicted 56% of the MHS variance for both groups. These findings indicate the need to provide trauma interventions, effective prevention to post-traumatic mental symptoms, and mental health services to the children and adolescent survivors in HEA, especially for the girls.