Abstract

Abstract

Abstract

Thirty-five police officers were followed up three years after they had been first assessed following their involvement in the retrieval and identification of human remains after a major disaster. Most of these officers were free from signs of psychiatric morbidity. Organisational and managerial practices appear to be powerful antidotes to adverse post-traumatic reactions. In this study the use of a longitudinal design, with a pre-disaster baseline and a control group, suggests that these are robust findings.

Abstract

Abstract

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been best studied among combat veterans. Less is known about PTSD among civilian populations exposed to traumatic events. A recent mass murder spree by a gunman in a cafeteria in Killeen, Tex., has provided a unique opportunity to study acute-phase civilian responses to a combat type of experience.

METHOD:

Approximately 1 month after the disaster, 136 survivors were interviewed with the Diagnostic Interview Schedule/Disaster Supplement.

RESULTS:

Abstract

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:

A prospective study of children examined both before and after a flood disaster in Bangladesh is used to test the hypothesis that stressful events play a causal role in the development of behavioral disorders in children.

METHODS:

Six months before the disaster, structured measures of selected behavioral problems were made during an epidemiological study of disability among 2- to 9-year-old children. Five months after the disaster, a representative sample of 162 surviving children was reevaluated.

RESULTS:

Abstract

This study examines the role of coping in the onset of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a nonpatient population following exposure to a natural disaster. In contrast to other studies, the use of all coping strategies was found to be associated with the presence of PTSD rather than the absence of symptoms. These data suggest that coping (in this sense) represents a psychological process used to contain the distress caused by symptoms as well as to manage environmental adversity.

Abstract