Philippine E-Journals

Psychological trauma symptoms related to the experience of hunger among Botolan youth disaster evacuees

Ruby Anne Abesamis | Alethea Patricia Del Castillo

 

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to explore the psychological trauma symptoms related to the experiences of hunger among Botolan youth evacuees during typhoon Kiko. The experiences of hunger were analyzed and the levels of trauma symptoms were measured in the course of the research. The researchers made use of a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. The Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (Briere, 1996) was administered to measure the level of trauma present among the respondents. Interviews were also conducted to analyze the experiences of hunger using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) (Coates and associates, 2007) as a guide questionnaire. It was found out that hunger significantly affects Botolan children disaster evacuees‘ physiological and psychological functioning. The levels of trauma did not score significantly elevated with the respondents, in general, although there was a marked elevation within the anxiety subscale. The results suggested that the respondents who were found to be in a state of hunger also scored significantly with trauma.