Trauma exposure and PTSD symptoms in international relief and development personnel

Zhang

Journal of Traumatic Stress

et al. 2009

104

101

The study investigated the symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and associated risk factors among adult survivors 3 months after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in China. One thousand five hundred sixty-three earthquake survivors in two communities participated in the study. The prevalence of probable PTSD was 37.8% and 13.0%, respectively, in the two communities that were affected differently by the earthquake. The significant predictive factors for the severity of PTSD symptoms were female gender, subnationality, lower educational level, lower social support, and higher initial exposure level. The results indicate that PTSD is also a common mental health problem among earthquake survivors in China. Given inadequate knowledge and practices concerning the mental health of disaster victims in China, the information provided by this study is useful for directing, strengthening, and evaluating disaster-related mental health needs and interventions after the earthquake.

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder among adult survivors three months after the Sichuan earthquake in China

Zhang

Journal of Traumatic Stress

et al. 2009

104

101

Int J Humanitarian Action

“…Studies of PTSD among military and police personnel have found prevalence estimates of 8.3% (Defence Health 2016) and 10-12% (Rose et al 2002) for these populations respectively, compared with 4-6% of the general population (Cooper et al 2014). Whilst studies of HA workers have generally relied on questionnaire measures rather than structured clinical interviews (producing estimates of "probable PTSD" rather than formal diagnoses), indicative rate estimates for PTSD among national and international expatriate HA workers range between 17 and 30% in the available literature (Eriksson et al 2001;Armagan et al 2006;Putman et al 2009;Zhen et al 2012). …”

Section: Mental Health Comparisons Between Humanitarian Aid and Emergmentioning

confidence: 99%

Future role aspirations, achievement motivations and perceptions of personal help-seeking among humanitarian aid trainees

Skeoch

Stevens

Taylor

2017

Humanitarian aid workers experience adverse mental health effects from their work at higher rates than the military, police and other emergency service personnel. Whilst there is considerable literature investigating risk and resilience factors for workers within this field, little is known about the status of such factors among individuals prior to their joining the profession. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten commencing undergraduates of a Bachelor of Humanitarian and Development Studies course to explore their aspirations and resilience factors regarding future work. Thematic analysis identified that whilst there was a high level of reported altruism among trainees, these perceptions appeared to constrain individual use of social support networks and help-seeking behaviours. Education and training appeared to shift future work preferences from humanitarian relief work towards development-related roles. The findings suggest that humanitarian aid trainees exhibit known risk and resilience factors before they enter the profession, whilst highlighting practice expectations and personal support perceptions that are amenable to positive change through training.

“…So far, there has been preliminary evidence that sense of coherence [26] and attachment style [27] are important predictors of secondary traumatization. Other studies showed that social support plays a decisive role in recovery after direct and indirect traumatization [11,17,28] . As is evident from recent literature focusing on primary traumatization [29] , a present sense of coherence seems to be protective for the development of secondary traumatization symptoms.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of and Risk Factors for Secondary Traumatization in Interpreters for Refugees: A Cross-Sectional Study

et al. 2017

Background: A substantial proportion of refugees, fleeing persecution, torture, and war, are estimated to suffer from psychological traumatization. After being sheltered in reception centers, the refugees come in close contact with different occupational groups, e.g., physicians, social workers, and interpreters. Previous studies ascertained that such interpreters themselves often suffer from primary psychological traumatization. Moreover, through translating refugees' potentially traumatic depictions, the interpreters are in danger of developing a so-called secondary traumatization. Objective: The present study aimed (1) to analyze the prevalence rates of primary traumatization in interpreters, (2) to assess the prevalence of secondary traumatization, depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms, (3) to examine the association between secondary traumatization symptoms and resilience factors in terms of sense of coherence, social support, and attachment style, and (4) to test whether these resilience factors mediate the relationship between primary and secondary traumatization. Methods: Participating interpreters (n = 64) were assessed for past exposure to potentially traumatic events as well as symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), secondary traumatization, depressive symptoms, anxiety, and subjective stress levels. Furthermore, we conducted psychometric surveys to measure interpreters' sense of coherence, degree of social support, and attachment style as potential predictors. Results: (1) 9% of the interpreters fulfilled all criteria for PTSD and a further 33% had subclinical PTSD; (2) a secondary traumatization was present in 21% of the examined interpreters - of these, 6% showed very high total scores indicating a severe secondary traumatization; furthermore, we found higher scores for depression, anxiety, and stress as compared to representative population samples, especially for females; (3) a present sense of coherence, an existing social support network, and a secure or preoccupied attachment style correlated significantly with low scores for secondary traumatization; and (4) a significant correlation emerged between primary and secondary traumatization (r = 0.595, p < 0.001); a mediation analysis revealed that this effect is partially mediated by secure attachment. Conclusion: A substantial proportion of interpreters working with refugees suffer from primary as well as secondary traumatization. However, high scores for sense of coherence and social support, male gender, and especially a secure attachment style were identified as resilience factors for secondary traumatization. The results may have implications for the selection, training, and supervision of interpreters.