Prevalence and sociocultural correlates of post-traumatic stress disorder and complex PTSD among Chinese community health service users in Hong Kong

Abstract

Objectives: Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) is a newly recognized trauma disorder in ICD-11. Little is known about the prevalence and correlates of CPTSD in primary care settings. Its cultural aspects also remained minimally explored. This study investigated the prevalence and sociocultural correlates of PTSD and complex PTSD among Chinese community health service users in Hong Kong. Methods: This study investigated ICD-11 PTSD and CPTSD in a sample of adults ( N = 376) who had recently received services from Registered Chinese Medicine Practitioners in Hong Kong. Traditional Chinese medicine service is part of primary care services in Chinese societies. Participants completed self-report measures of CPTSD, trauma exposure, perceived family support, perceived caregiver’s Chinese traditionality/modernity, participation (social activities and occupational productivity), depression and pain. Results: The past-month prevalence of ICD-11 PTSD and CPTSD was 5.6% and 18.4%, respectively, in our sample. Chi-square tests and one-way ANOVAs revealed that participants with CPTSD were younger and reported more trauma, lower family support, lower levels of social participation and productivity, more depressive symptoms and pain, and more social welfare and mental health service usages than those without PTSD. We found that perceived caregiver’s Chinese modernity (e.g. egalitarianism) was negatively correlated with CPTSD symptoms. Apart from age, non-betrayal trauma had the strongest association with classical PTSD symptoms, while betrayal trauma and perceived family support had the strongest association with disturbances in self-organization symptoms. Conclusion: This study provides the first data regarding the prevalence and correlates of ICD-11 PTSD and CPTSD among community health service users in Hong Kong. PTSD and CPTSD are common but often unrecognized mental health problems which are associated with more impairments and more service needs.

Persistence and clinical consequences of post-traumatic and dissociative symptoms in people with depressive symptoms: a one-year follow-up study

“…Therefore, early identification and management of trauma-related symptoms are important. It should be noted that trauma-related conditions are frequently overlooked in clinical settings, as evidenced by previous research (Cusack et al, 2006 ; Fung, Wong, Lam, Chien, Hung, Ross, et al, 2022 ). In our sample, only 36 participants (23.7%) self-reported a previous clinical diagnosis of PTSD/complex PTSD.…”

“…Third, informed by previous studies showing that post-traumatic and dissociative symptoms/disorders are associated with more impairments and/or healthcare costs in both psychiatric and nonpsychiatric samples (as these symptoms are less likely to respond well to standard, non-trauma-specific treatments) (e.g. Fung, Wong, Lam, Chien, Hung, Ross, et al, 2022 ; Gonzalez Vazquez et al, 2017 ; Myrick, Webermann, Langeland, et al, 2017 ; Ross & Dua, 1993 ), we also examined whether participants with PTSD or elevated levels of dissociation would be more likely to report use of psychiatric hospitalization and psychiatric emergency services.…”

Reliability and Mental Health Correlates of a Single-Item Measure of Self-Rated Mental Health (SRMH) in the Chinese Context

“…Only participants who self-reported that they had been diagnosed with a learning or reading disorder, dementia, and/or cognitive impairments were excluded. The methodology, sampling and results of the study have been reported elsewhere [ 14 ]. In Sample 2, N = 377 Hong Kong community health (TCM) service users participated in the web-based survey.…”

Dissociative symptoms among community health service users in Hong Kong: a longitudinal study of clinical course and consequences

“…To investigate trauma and trauma-related mental health problems among community health service users in Hong Kong, we recruited a sample of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) service users to participate in a survey study. Part of the data has been reported elsewhere (Fung, Wong, Lam, Chien, Hung, & Ross, 2022 ; Fung, Wong, Lam, Chien, Hung, Ross, et al, 2022 ; Po et al, 2023 ).…”