The prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Korean parents lost their children by the tragic sinking of ferry Sewol

Abstract

A South Korean passenger ferry, the Sewol, carrying 476 people, capsized and sank in 2014 resulting in 295 deaths and 9 missing. Most were high-school students on a school trip (246 deaths, 83.4%) and many parents who lost their children had suffered from a wide range of mental and physical health consequences. This research examines the extent and intensity of ongoing psychological distress and PTSD symptoms among the parents 2 years after the disaster. The 141 parents of the high-school victims agree with research participation were surveyed using a questionnaire on sociodemographic data. We conducted the structured clinical interview including PTSD and suicide assessment for them. Among the 141 subjects, 56.0% (n = 79) meet the PTSD diagnostic criteria, suggesting that, after two full years, more than a half of them are still suffering from chronic psychological pains. This result is higher than any other PTSD study about indirect victims. In particular, 42.6% (n = 60) reported suicidal ideation and 4.3% (n = 6) actually attempted suicide but failed. These figures are on the order of 10 to 100 times higher than the national prevalence. This research is characterized by homogeneity of the subjects in that they were all the parents of young adolescent victims. After two years of traumatic experiences, more than a half of the interviewed parents who lost their children are still suffering from the PTSD. These findings suggest that post-disaster PTSD can be larger and last longer when the relationship was more intimate and the death of the victim was less expected.

Disclosure of interest

The author has not supplied his declaration of competing interest.