Post-Traumatic Stress among Evacuees from the 2016 Fort McMurray Wildfires: Exploration of Psychological and Sleep Symptoms Three Months after the Evacuation

Genevieve Belleville, Marie-Christine Ouellet and Charles M. Morin
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Genevieve Belleville: School of Psychology, Laval University, Quebec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
Marie-Christine Ouellet: School of Psychology, Laval University, Quebec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
Charles M. Morin: School of Psychology, Laval University, Quebec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 9, 1-14

Abstract: This study documents post-traumatic stress symptoms after the May 2016 wildfires in Fort McMurray (Alberta, Canada). A sample of 379 evacuees completed an online questionnaire from July to September 2016, and a subsample of 55 completed a psychiatric/psychological diagnostic interview. According to a self-report questionnaire, 62.5% of respondents had a provisional post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The interview confirmed that 29.1% met criteria for PTSD, 25.5% for depression, and 43.6% for insomnia; in most cases, insomnia was definitely or probably related to the fires. Traumatic exposure may elicit or exacerbate sleep problems, which are closely associated with PTSD after a disaster.

Keywords: post-traumatic stress disorder; psychological distress; mental health; sleep (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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