Factors affecting the symptoms of depression and anxiety level of children living in primary age after the destructive earthquake in The Karakocan town of the city of Elazig in Turkey

Earthquake is common and very important cause of public health problems in all societies. In this cross-sectional study which aims to examine and determine depression symptoms, the level of anxiety among the school-age children in the area effected by the recent earthquake in Karakocan town of city of Elazıg in Turkey, all primary level school age children is included in the study and every individual (1070 people in total) has been studied without generalizing the result of a subgroup. With repeated visits 701 children were reached.A questionnaire which consists of multiple choice questions that measures the state anxiety, trait anxiety and depression level for children is given to the kids who are included in this study and administered by the questioner himself.%51.7 of children who are included in this study are female, %41.1 of them live in a village or suburbs and %11.1 of them stay in the dormitories or with a relative or a neighbor. %6.7 of the responders have relatives who has trapped under debris that %57.4 of whom were died. %87.6 of the responders carry worry about an immediate quake, %44.8 of them have faced insomnia, and had nightmares after experiencing the earthquake. In addition to these results, % 58.4 of the responders has been trained on earthquake and earthquake protection, %36.4 of them had to take social support and % 29.5 of them had to be supported financially. The average state and trait anxiety scores of children especially who are female or who lives in villages and suburbs, who carries worry about possible quake, who had faced insomnia and similar problems after the earthquake, and children who have not had any financial support were resulted to be very high. Also, the average depression score of children who lives in villages and suburbs, who have trapped under wreckeage, or have been injured or maimed by the earthquake or have lost relatives in the earthquake, and could not have either social or financial support, were especially higher.This study shows that the children who experienced this recent devastating earthquake had significantly higher scores of state, trait anxiety and of depression. Therefore, to minimize the effect of this catastrophic event and eliminate the problems aftermath on children of the region, it should be given priority to education, public services as well as rehabilitation studies.Keywords: Earthquake, Children, Anxiety, Depression