Echoes of the earthquake: evidence-based suggestions for the management of psychological consequences of earthquakes

Experiencing an earthquake can be a traumatic event, sometimes followed by another negative experience represented by post-earthquake temporary displacement. Both can have serious and lasting consequences on people’s wellbeing, quality of life, and life satisfaction even years after the traumatic event. These consequences can hinder the recovery of individuals and communities affected by an earthquake. After summarizing our previous investigations of psychological consequences in individuals who faced different experiences in terms of temporary displacement from their home after an earthquake, we provide a new empirical contribution on the predictors and correlates of autobiographical memory of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in individuals who had or had not been displaced from their homes after three Italian earthquakes (n = 340). We also examined the association between the PTSD memory measure and measures of wellbeing, quality of life, life satisfaction, and event-related health impairment. Being female, having lower individual resilience and stronger place attachment, having been or still being displaced from home, and having higher current risk awareness were associated with higher scores on the PTSD memory measure. Higher scores were also associated with lower current wellbeing, lower current and expected quality of life, lower life satisfaction during displacement, and more severe perceived health consequences. The results suggest that experiencing an earthquake followed by prolonged displacement hinders recovery from the negative psychological effects of the disaster. Overall, the reviewed research suggests the need for tailored interventions at the individual, social, and management levels to prevent and manage the negative psychological consequences of earthquakes at different stages of the disaster risk management cycle.