Post-traumatic Stress Symptoms in Adolescents Exposed to the Earthquake in Lombok, Indonesia: Prevalence and Association With Maladaptive Trauma-Related Cognition and Resilience.

Natural disasters may physically and psychologically affect individuals and their surrounding community. This study determines the prevalence of post-traumatic stress (PTS) symptoms and its association with maladaptive trauma-related cognition and resilience among adolescents post-earthquake. Data were collected, in this cross-sectional study, during an intervention program post-earthquake held in a state high school located at Lombok, Indonesia. The study sample engaged students 14-19 years of age using the purposive sampling method. The questionnaires used to measure PTS symptoms, maladaptive trauma-related cognition, and resilience were Children's Revised Impact of Event Scale-13 (CRIES-13), Child Post-Traumatic Cognitions Inventory (CPTCI), and Child and Youth Resilience Measure-Revised (CYRM-R), respectively. The prevalence of PTS symptoms was 69.9%. Among the respondents, 61.37% were female and 56.48% had mothers with lower educational levels. Using multiple linear regression, the final predictors of PTS symptoms were excessive reactions (e.g., wailing loudly, miserable shrieking) of proxy during earthquake ( = 3.283, = 0.005), maladaptive trauma-related cognition ( = 0.224, = 0.002), and resilience ( = 0.192, < 0.001) with female gender ( = 7.350, < 0.001) as a control variable. Through simple linear regression, victims who witnessed injury or death during the earthquake ( = 0.003), had a proxy died during the earthquake ( = 0.01), and trapped victims or those who had difficulty escaping ( = 0.01) were identified to potentially predict the occurrence of PTS symptoms, warranting further study. The presence of excessive proxy reactions during the earthquake, maladaptive trauma-related cognition, and resilience in adolescents exposed to a natural disaster are worth targeting and prioritizing in future post-disaster interventions.