Intrinsic religious orientation, in particular, appears to be a useful construct in measuring religiosity in the association with the consequences of trauma. There are preliminary indications that the association between intrinsic religiosity and the consequences of trauma may change depending on the time after the event. Future studies should stratify outcome by the time after trauma or use longitudinal designs.
In addition to cross-cultural and environmental stressors, aid workers and missionaries are frequently exposed to trauma. We explored the frequency of traumatic events, their mental health impact, and factors associated with posttraumatic stress in two groups of missionaries, one representing a predominantly stable setting (Europe) and the other an unstable setting (West Africa). The 256 participants completed self-report measures assessing lifetime traumatic events, current posttraumatic stress, depressive and anxiety symptoms, resilience, and functioning. The rate of traumatic events was significantly higher in the unstable setting. More-frequent traumatic events were associated with higher posttraumatic stress. Factors associated with the severity of posttraumatic stress were depression, functional impairment, subjective severity and number of traumatic events, and the level of resilience.
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