Psychiatric Symptoms in Teachers from Danwon High School after Exposure to the Sinking of the Motor Vessel Sewol

Psychiatric Symptoms in Teachers from Danwon High School after Exposure to the Sinking of the Motor Vessel Sewol

Psychiatry Investigation, November 2017

29209399

Mi-Sun Lee, Soo-Young Bhang, Cheol-Soon Lee, Hyoung Yoon Chang, Ji-Youn Kim, Ju-Hyun Lee, Eunji Kim, Seung-Min Bae, Jang-Ho Park, Hye-Jin Kim, Jun-Won Hwang

The goal of this study was to describe the psychiatric symptoms in the teachers from Danwon High School who were exposed to the sinking of the Motor Vessel Sewol. Data were collected from 32 teachers who underwent psychiatric interventions by 16 volunteer psychiatrists for 3 months after the sinking of the Motor Vessel Sewol. The most commonly diagnosed clinical diagnosis in the teachers were normal reaction, acute stress disorder and adjustment disorder. Psychiatric symptoms including anxiety, depressed mood and sleep disturbances were also observed. In the acute aftermath of the Sewol Ferry sinking on April 16, 2014, psychiatrists volunteered to provide professional psychiatric interventions to Danwon High School teachers. These results suggest the importance of crisis intervention focused on the teachers who are exposed to disasters. The implications for future research and interventions are discussed.