This study considers demographic, offense, and disorder contributors to exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a large (N = 9,611) dataset of standardized psychiatric assessments resulting from nationwide collaborations with justice agencies. Youths' antisocial history may elevate risk for traumatic exposure and PTSD, additionally, traumatic victimization increases risk for externalizing behavior. Rates of all types of traumatic exposure and PTSD were clearly elevated and expectably related to disorder and antisocial behavior.

There is growing evidence that deficits in emotion regulation may be at the heart of maladaptive reactions after bereavement. Expressive flexibility, or the ability to flexibly enhance or suppress emotional expression, appears to be especially important for adjustment in the aftermath of highly aversive events (Bonanno, Papa, Lalande, Westphal, & Coifman, 2004). In this study, we compared expressive flexibility in a sample of bereaved adults who lost their spouse 1.5-3 years earlier and a comparable sample of married adults.

The book aims to better understand the experinces of local communities in order to enable outsiders to find ways to respect and build on local strengths in assisting communities dealing with disasters.

Secondary Traumatic Stress [STS] is a constellation of conditions ranging from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)-like symptoms to transformative cognitive shifts in self and world view. Prior to the mid 1990's much of the STS research focused on emergency responders (Arvay, M.J. 2001, Arvay & Uhlemann 2001), human service providers (Follette et al 1996, Bride 1995), and on one type of STS--vicarious traumatization. Since the mid 1990's STS research has increased in scope and volume, yet, little is known about how mental health practitioners experience Secondary Traumatic Stress.