Six-month follow-up study of patients attending the disaster psychiatry outpatient clinic: Depression, anxiety, stress and psychological resilience

Objective: Earthquakes and their consequences are associated with social, economical, and psychological difficulties. This study aimed to evaluate the psychological stress and psychological resilience levels of people who applied to Eskişehir Osmangazi University Disaster Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic (DPOC) 6 months after the February 6, 2023 earthquakes and to review the predictors. Method: In the first phase of the study, the sociodemographic and clinical data form records applied to the individuals who applied to DPOC were retrospectively evaluated. In the second phase of the study, the participants were applied the Depression Anxiety Stress-21 Scale (DASS-21) and the Brief Psychological Resilience Scale (BRS) 6 months after the earthquake. Results: In the first phase of the research, 68 people were included and 42 of them participated in the second phase. In the 6th month of the disaster, 59.5% of the participants scored moderate or higher on the depression subscale, 42.9% on the anxiety scale, and 31% on the stress scale. Clinical Global Impression Scale (CGI) scores during the first evaluation correlated with the anxiety subscale score, total DASS-21 score. CGI score at the first application was negatively related to resilience score in follow-up. BRS score was negatively correlated with total DASS-21 score. Discussion: Providing psychosocial support in the post-disaster period is important to prevent mental disorders and increase psychological resilience. Also, identifying risky groups and monitoring the follow-up and treatment processes of these individuals is an important factor to reduce the associated morbidity.