Investigating Psychological Trauma Among the 2010 Haiti Earthquake Survivors Who Have Relocated to Boston, Massachusetts The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Pierre-Louis, Marie Laurence. 2016. Investigating Psychological Trauma Among the 2010 Haiti Earthquake Survivors Who Have Relocated to Boston, Massachusetts. Master's thesis, Harvard Extension School. Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:33797323 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA Investigating Psychological Trauma Among the 2010 Haiti Earthquake Survivors Who Have Relocated to Boston, Massachusetts Marie Laurence Pierre-Louis A Thesis in the Field of Clinical Psychology for the Degree of Master of Liberal Arts in Extension Studies Harvard University April 2016 Copyright 2016 Marie Laurence Pierre-Louis Abstract This study investigates the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) symptoms among the 2010 Haiti earthquake survivors who have relocated to Boston, Massachusetts. It addresses the following questions: 1) Are symptoms of PTSD and MDD related to the earthquake present among survivors who have relocated to the Boston area? 2) How does this population use mental health treatment? 3) If PTSD and MDD symptoms are present, how do they relate to the earthquake-related trauma experienced by the immigrant survivors? 4) Is there an association between the severity of PTSD symptoms and the severity of MDD symptoms among the survivors? A total of fifty earthquake survivors participated in this study. They each completed a demographic questionnaire, a trauma exposure survey, a PTSD checklist (PCL-C-Civilian version) and a Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Those who met criteria for PTSD and MDD completed an additional questionnaire designed to investigate how they coped with their symptoms. The results of this study indicate that 24% of the participants meet criteria for PTSD and 74% for MDD according to the cutoffs that were established based on previous research. It was found that none of those participants who met criteria for PTSD and/or MDD had consulted a mental health professional. The study also found a positive iii association between the severity of PTSD diagnosis, MDD diagnosis, and certain exposures to trauma. Those who were older, lost family members and friends, or were physically injured in the earthquake scored higher on the BDI. Those participants who lost their homes, lost immediate family members and friends, or were physically injured scored higher on the PCL-C. Finally, the study results showed a strong positive correlation between PTSD and MDD symptoms among the participants. 92% of those meeting criteria for PTSD also met criteria for MDD and 32% of those meeting criteria for MDD also met criteria for PTSD. iv Dedication This thesis is dedicated to the 2010 Haiti earthquake victims and their families. This monstrous quake has undoubtedly changed the lives of its survivors for the remainder of their time on earth. However, they refuse to be broken. The strength of the Haitian people can be compared to bamboo. Like bamboo, Haitians have the resilience to overcome the most atrocious natural disasters. It was amazing to see how the study participants had not lost hope in spite of all the hardship many of them have been through since that awful event. Haitians often say where there is life there is hope. The survivors continue to hope for better days ahead. They will continue to carry on in the face of life’s adversities. May they all find peace. I also dedicate this work to my mother, Loraine Milord. She was taken too early and regretfully left with all the dreams she had for her six children. Her investment in love has been my source of resilience as I have weathered the storms of life. v Acknowledgements I am enormously grateful to everybody who helped me with this difficult project. The study participants were instrumental in taking the time to fill out the forms and answer many deeply personal questions. I obviously could not have completed the project without their help. My heartfelt thanks to my thesis director, Dr. Astrid Desrosiers, for the benefit of her guidance and her rich experience in the field. I am very grateful to my research advisor, Dr. Dante Spetter, for her coaching and constructive feedback on my thesis proposal. I would not have been able to get to this point without her guidance. She always pushed me to give the best of myself. I am indebted to Dr. Craig Smith who has been like a light on my path to this point. He encouraged me throughout my most difficult times and helped me believe in myself. I appreciate Chuck Houston’s support and encouragement over the past several years. My appreciation also goes to Rick Oliver for being a gifted and patient editor. Last but not least, I owe my deepest gratitude to my dear husband, Renan Anonce Pierre-Louis, who has been by my side on this project and in life. Finally, my two daughters, Felisha and Anya-Lauren, have been my inspiration as they have made it easier for me to envision the future. vi Table of Contents Dedication ............................................................................................................................v Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ vi List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... ix List of Figures ......................................................................................................................x I. Introduction ............................................................................................................1 II. Method ...................................................................................................................11 Participants ....................................................................................................11 Instruments ....................................................................................................11 Procedure .....................................................................................................15 Quantitative Analysis ...................................................................................16 III. Results ....................................................................................................................18 Demographic Profile of Study Participants ..................................................18 Trauma Exposure Profile of Study Participants............................................18 Descriptive Statistics .....................................................................................19 Multivariate Linear Regression Analysis......................................................20 Bivariate Correlation Analysis ......................................................................24 lV. Discussion ..............................................................................................................27 References ..........................................................................................................................35 Appendix A Demographic Questionnaire ..........................................................................41 Appendix B Trauma Exposure...........................................................................................42 vii Appendix C PCL-C - PTSD checklist (English) ...............................................................43 Appendix D PCL-C - PTSD checklist (Kreyol) ...............................................................45 Appendix E Beck Depression Inventory (English) ...........................................................47 Appendix F Beck Depression Inventory (Kreyol) ............................................................50 Appendix G Follow-up Questionnaire ..............................................................................54 viii List of Tables Table 1 Demographic profile of study participants ................................................12 Table 2 Trauma exposure profile of study participants ..........................................19 Table 3 Descriptive statistics ..................................................................................20 Table 4 Correlation between MDD, PTSD, and the independent variables ...........22 Table 5 Model summary (MDD) ............................................................................23 Table 6 ANOVA (MDD) ........................................................................................23 Table 7 Model summary( PTSD) ............................................................................23 Table 8 ANOVA (PTSD) ........................................................................................24 Table 9 Words used by participants to describe how they .....................................26 cope with PTSD and MDD symptoms ix List of Figures Figure 1 Scatter Plot of PTSD versus MDD ............................................................... 25 x Chapter I Introduction On January 12, 2010, an earthquake measuring a magnitude of 7.0 on the Richter scale struck Port-au-Prince,