Stress reaction and depression after bomb attacks of Reyhanli

Objective: Terrorism attacks are the form of the actions, which are taken to create maximum psychological impact on the target population. As a result, of two separate bombings on 11 March 2013 at Hatay, Reyhanli 52 people died and 146 people injured. The purpose is to determine the ratio of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on sixth month after the blast and the risk associated with them on people, who directly exposed to two separate explosions visually and auditory, and people who were living there but indirectly witness them.

Method: In this study 43 people, who were directly exposed, 42 people who were indirectly exposed to the explosions and 45 healthy people as a control group are included for a total of 130 individuals in sixth month after the blast. Beck Depression Inventory, civilian versions of post-traumatic stress disorder checklist, Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) FORM TX-1, (STAI) FORM TX-2 and sociodemographic information form were administered to all patients.

Results: The ratio of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in people, who were directly exposed to explosions visually and auditorily, and people, who were living there but indirectly witness the explosion were significantly higher, when statistically compared to control group (p<0.05). Among the three groups there were no statistically significant differences in terms of age, gender and demographic factors (p>0.05).

Conclusion: Our study has supportive information about the individuals, who were exposed to terrorist attacks have high ratio of PTSD. Unlike other studies, our study is also one of the few studies that evaluates individuals with PTSD have higher ratio of depression and anxiety.