Psychiatry Investig.  2024 Nov;21(11):1183-1192. 10.30773/pi.2024.0154.

The Moderating Effect of Resilience on the Relationship Between the Relevance to Victims With Post-Trauma Psychiatric Symptoms of Community Residents After Seoul Halloween Crowd Crush

• Kim SY
• Jung S
• Lee MY
• Oh KS
• Shin YC
• Shin DW
• Kim J
• Kim ES
• Jung SW
• Lee Ky
• Oh N
• Cho SJ
• Jeon SW

• KMID: 2560890
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.30773/pi.2024.0154

Abstract

Objective
This study aimed to examine the psychiatric impact of the Seoul Halloween crowd crush on individuals related to the victims compared to the general population. It also explores the moderating effect of resilience on the relationship between trauma exposure and psychiatric symptoms.
Methods
In total, 2,220 participants completed various post-incident questionnaires (Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, Hwa-byung symptom scale, post-traumatic stress disorder checklist for DSM-5, and Brief Resilience Scale) 30 days after the incident. Moderation analyses were conducted using the PROCESS macro in the statistical package for the social sciences.
Results
Individuals related to the victims exhibited higher symptom severity and a greater risk for clinically significant levels of depression, anxiety, anger, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (odds ratio=3.28, 3.33, 1.51, and 4.39 respectively). The impact of relevance to victims on anxiety and PTSD symptoms was moderated by resilience, with a stronger effect observed for individuals with low resilience (β=3.51, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.78–4.24 for anxiety and β=14.53, 95% CI 12.43–16.63 for PTSD) than for those with high resilience (β=1.69, 95% CI 0.72–2.65 for anxiety and β=8.33, 95% CI 5.56–11.09 for PTSD).
Conclusion
When related to the victims, it was found that not only PTSD, but also depression, anxiety, and anger could intensify. Resilience emerged as a potential buffer against these adverse effects, emphasizing its significance in mitigating the psychiatric impact of community trauma.

Keyword

Post-traumatic stress disorders; Community psychiatry; Anxiety disorder; Mood disorder