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Abstract

Introduction

The prevalence of insomnia complaints in populations exposed to trauma is estimated to range from 41% to 91%. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been associated with elevated autonomic nervous system arousal during sleep and alterations in sleep stages. The protective effect of psychological resilience on PTSD and depression has been demonstrated. However, a critical gap remains as to the influence of resilience on sleep among survivors of natural disasters. This study investigated the relationships among psychological resilience, peritraumatic distress, PTSD and depression symptoms severity, and sleep disturbances among survivors of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti two years later.

Methods

The sample comprised 165 participants living in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, one of the areas affected by the 2010 earthquake. Measures included demographic factors, the Peritraumatic Distress Inventory, the PTSD Checklist Specific, the Beck Depression Inventory and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. Spearman correlations and multilinear regressions were used to explore associations among resilience, PTSD, depression, and sleep disturbances.

Results

The majority of the population was male (52.1%) and the mean age was 30.7 (SD=11.07) years. Of the sample, 60.4%, 94% and 43% reported fearing for their life during the event, experiencing subsequent insomnia symptoms, or having nightmares, respectively. Among our participants, 42.4% and 21.8% showed clinically significant levels of PTSD and symptoms of depression. There were significant positive correlations between sleep disturbances and peritraumatic distress (r=0.41, p< 0.001), PTSD (r=0.76, p< 0.001), symptoms of depression (r=0.32, p< 0.001), and age (r=0.15, p< 0.001), but not with resilience factors. The most significant risk factors for sleep disturbances were peritraumatic distress, PTSD and depression symptoms, explaining 58% of the variance (F 4, 157 =0.57, R²=0.59, adjusted R² =0. 58, p < 0.001).

Conclusion

This is one of the first epidemiological study to investigate prevalence of sleep disturbances among survivors of the 2010 Haiti earthquake and its associations with peritraumatic distress, PTSD, depression and resilience. The findings provide evidence supporting the importance of sleep in interventions aiming at improving daily functioning and quality of well-being in the affected population.

Support (If Any)

T32HL129953; K07AG052685

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© Sleep Research Society 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Sleep Research Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail [email protected].
This article is published and distributed under the terms of the Oxford University Press, Standard Journals Publication Model (https://dbpia.nl.go.kr/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model)
Topic:
Issue Section:
B. Clinical Sleep Science and Practice > IX. Sleep and Psychiatric Disorders
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