Factors affecting resilience in adolescents suffered by earthquake: Kahramanmaraş earthquakes (2023) example

The Kahramanmaraş earthquakes are the largest and most destructive earthquakes in the history of the Republic of Turkey. Exposure to large-scale disasters such as the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes can cause serious mental health problems in individuals. Mental health problems caused by disasters have serious effects on adolescents, who are among the vulnerable groups. In particular, it has been observed that there is a limited number of studies on vulnerable groups in large-scale mega disasters such as the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes. For this reason, the aim of the study was to measure the effects of PTSD, anxiety, and depression on adolescent resilience in earthquake-stricken adolescents in Malatya, which is among the provinces affected by the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes. In this quantitative study, 512 earthquake-stricken adolescents were reached using the survey technique. The model created within the scope of the study was tested with Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). According to the SEM results, PTSD (β=-0.227, p=0.000), anxiety (β=-0.219, p=0.000) and depression (β=-0.230, p=0.000) have a significant and negative effect on resilience in earthquake-stricken adolescents. As a result, mental health problems such as PTSD, anxiety and depression experienced by earthquake-stricken adolescents reduce resilience. Therefore, in order to increase resilience in earthquake-stricken adolescents, it is necessary to prevent mental health problems such as PTSD, anxiety and depression. Comprehensive and in-depth investigation of different methods to strengthen psychological resilience in earthquake-stricken adolescents should be the target of future studies.