Time trend of post-traumatic stress disorder among middle school students after Wenchuan earthquake

Objective To describe the time trend of post-traumatic stress disorder among middle school students after Wenchuan earthquake.Methods A follow-up investigation was conducted to examine and diagnose post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD) among middle school students in the disaster region with PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version(PCL-C) and self administe red questionnaire 4, 7, and 10 months after the earthquake, respectively.Results The general positive rate of PTSD was 37.1%, 31.3%, and 25.2% 4, 7, and 10 mouths after the earthquake, with a steady declining trend(X²=62.14, P<0.001) and an average decline rate of 17.6%.The positive rate of PTSD among the students uninjured in the earthquake was significantly lower than that of students with injury.Conclusion The mental health of middle school students in the disaster region is not good, and targeted mental health education and further follow-up study are necessary.