Cumulative stressful events and mental health in young adults after 10 years of Wenchuan earthquake: the role of social support

Abstract

Background: After a natural disaster, stressful events often continue to accumulate, affecting individuals in a different manner than the original disaster never occurred. However, few studies have examined these associations, the cumulative impacts of stressful events on mental health outcomes, and the role of social support. This study examined the prospective association between cumulative stressful events and mental health problems and the role of social support in young adults. Methods: 695 participants provided available data on earthquake exposure, childhood maltreatment, other negative life events, and social support at baseline. Depressive symptoms and posttraumatic stress disorder were assessed at baseline and 10 years after the earthquake (T 10y ). A cumulative stressful events index was used to evaluate the levels of cumulative stressful events. Linear regressions were used to explore the predictive effects. Results: Of 695 participants, 41.3%, 28.5%, and 7.9% reported one, two, and three stressful events, respectively. The associations between cumulative stressful events and mental health problems at T 10y presented a dose–response pattern: those who experienced three events had the highest risk of mental health problems, followed by those who experienced two events and those who reported one event. Additionally, higher social support partially reduced the negative impact of cumulative stressful events on mental health. Conclusions: Cumulative stressful events are associated with mental health problems 10 years later in young earthquake survivors. Social support could reduce the negative impact, but its protective role disappears when stressful events accumulate at the highest level. These findings highlight the importance of assessing the cumulative impacts of stressful events and social support available to young disaster survivors and intervening to prevent worse mental health outcomes.

State depression, anxiety, stress, and sleep among students attending a Canadian university during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“…The idea that stress may accumulate and lead to worse psychological health is supported by other studies in different populations. For example, in one study of 695 young adults, who were survivors of a traumatic event (earthquake), the accumulation of stressful events was associated with mental health problems 1 decade later in this group (Chen et al, 2023). Another longitudinal study that included a large-scale sample of community residents ages 15-65 years, across five neighbourhoods in Southwest Montreal, reported that stressful life events predicted the development of depression (Su et al, 2022).…”

Taking a trauma and adversity perspective to climate change mental health

“…A range of mental health outcomes has been associated with the impacts of climate change-related disaster events. Although disaster events are frequently traumatic in nature and are most typically associated with the emergence of posttraumatic stress symptoms (Agyapong et al, 2022 ; Chen et al, 2023 ; Massazza et al, 2022 ; van der Does et al, 2023 ), the mental health sequelae of disasters are complex and may also include symptoms of anxiety (Agyapong et al, 2022 ; Richez et al, 2022 ), depression (Agyapong et al, 2022 ; Chen et al, 2023 ), and general psychological distress (Pardon et al, 2024 ; Zhang et al, 2022 ). Further, a scoping review article in this Special Issue indicated that amongst individuals, lasting environmental changes associated with climate change (particularly heat and heatwaves) result in increased mortality risk, suicide and suicidal behaviours, and psychiatric morbidity amongst individuals with mental health conditions (Massazza et al, 2022 ).…”