Investigation of Anxiety and Symptom Levels of Individuals Depending on the Type of Earthquake Experience

The February 6 earthquakes left deep scars on the psychological health of the society. In order to repair these scars and minimize the damages that may be caused by future disasters, the current situation needs to be addressed in detail in different contexts. The aim of the current study is to examine the earthquake anxiety and symptom levels of individuals who indirectly experienced the earthquake. In this examination,having relatives in the earthquake zone, daily media monitoring after the earthquake, frequency of post-earthquake guilt and demographic variables (gender, age, education level) were discussed. Earthquake Anxiety Scale and Short Symptom Inventory were used to measure the earthquake anxiety and symptom levels of individuals. The data collected from 205 participants (aged between 18 and 60) through Google Forms showed that people’s earthquake anxiety varies according to the frequency of media monitoring after the earthquake. In addition, the level of psychological symptoms differed according to having relatives in the earthquake zone. Gender and education level were also effective on both earthquake anxiety and symptom level. In addition, when the relationship between age and earthquake anxiety level was analysed, it was determined that there was a decrease in earthquake anxiety level depending on the increase in age. Finally, it was found that as the frequency of experiencing post-earthquake guilt increased, both earthquake anxiety and symptom level increased, that is, there was a positive relationship between them. The findings of the study may help the development of intervention programs covering all individuals in the society and the creation of a disaster culture including a sensitive disaster language.