A retrospective and prospective follow-up study of psychological distress in the danwon high school survivors of the sewol ferry disaster

Objective We monitored a group of students from Danwon High School who survived the Sewol ferry disaster for 27 months to examine the course of their psychological symptoms. Methods We performed a chart review at the Danwon High School Mental Health Center at the following time points (T): 9 months (T1), 12 months (T2), and 15 months (T3) after the disaster. Additionally, we performed a follow-up review at 27 months (T4). Subjects completed the ‘State’ section of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children, the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression assessment, the Child Report of Post-traumatic Symptoms, and the Inventory of Complicated Grief. Data from the 32 subjects who completed all four assessments were used in the statistical analyses. Results Scores of psychological variables tended to increase until T2 and then slowly decreased until T4. The severity of anxiety and complicated grief symptoms changed significantly over time, but the severity of depression and posttraumatic stress symptoms did not. Conclusion We found that the symptoms of anxiety and complicated grief reported by Sewol ferry survivors from Danwon High School were exacerbated at the first anniversary of the disaster, but these symptoms subsided after the students graduated from high school.