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Psychosocial Difficulties in Adolescents nine Months after a Railway Accident

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Abstract

A railway accident which occurred in Lac-Megantic in Quebec, Canada, caused disruption for an entire community. This study examines the psychosocial difficulties in a group of exposed adolescents aged between 11 to 17, nine months after the tragedy. The analyses were conducted on a sample of 515 adolescents, attending high school, and living near the impact area. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), mental health problems (depression, anxiety), and problem use of alcohol or drugs prevalence were estimated. Multiple logistic regression was used to identify risk factors for PTSD clinical threshold. Almost half (43.4%) of adolescents reported being severely exposed to the railway accident and one third (31.3%) have reported a PTSD. Serious injuries, depression and anxiety (p < .05) were associated with greater risks for adolescents with a PTSD. However, sex, victimization, and emerging problems or problem use of alcohol or drugs are not associated with the PTSD. The results of the study highlight the relationship between a traumatic event such as the railway accident and the presence of PTSD nine months after, as well as risk factors for PTSD in adolescents. Paying close attention to mental health problems in adolescents when a traumatic event occurs and provide adequate aid is essential.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all the participants that collaborated in this study and all members of the research team.

Funding

This research was supported by the founding agencies Fonds québécois de la recherche sur la société et la culture, Canada Research Chair in Drug use Patterns and Related Problems, and Centre de recherche de l’Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. École de Criminologie, Université de Montréal, Pavillon Lionel-Groulx, 3150 rue Jean-Brillant, Montréal, Québec, H3T 1N8, Canada

    Martine Hugron, Stéphane Guay & Marie-Marthe Cousineau

  2. Faculté de Médecine et des Sciences de la Santé, Université de Sherbrooke, Campus de Longueuil 150 Place Charles-Le Moyne, bureau 200, Longueuil, Québec, J4K 0A8, Canada

    Magali Dufour, Adèle Morvannou & Djamal Berbiche

  3. Département de Psychoéducation, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Local 1064c pavillon Michel-Sarrazin, 3351 boulevard des Forges, C.P. 500, Trois-Rivières, Québec, G9A 5H7, Canada

    Natacha Brunelle, Joël Tremblay, Danielle Leclerc & Michel Rousseau

Authors
  1. Martine Hugron
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  8. Marie-Marthe Cousineau
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  9. Michel Rousseau
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Correspondence to Martine Hugron.

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Conflict of Interest

Authors do not have any financial or personal relationships with other people or organisations that could inappropriately influence their work.

Ethical Approval

The study was approved by the Comité d’éthique de la recherche en arts et en sciences of the University of Montreal (N/Réf. CERAS-2015-16-261-D). All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Hugron, M., Dufour, M., Guay, S. et al. Psychosocial Difficulties in Adolescents nine Months after a Railway Accident. Psychiatr Q 89, 829–840 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-018-9583-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-018-9583-6

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