Weighing the Costs of Disaster: Consequences, Risks, and Resilience in Individuals, Families, and Communities

Disasters typically strike quickly and cause great harm. Unfortunately, because of the spontaneous and chaotic nature of disasters, the psychological consequences have proved exceedingly difficult to assess. Published reports have often overestimated a disaster’s psychological cost to survivors, suggesting, for example, that many if not most survivors will develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), at the same time, these reports have underestimated the scope of the disaster’s broader impact in other domains.

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Veränderte selbstwahrnehmung bei der posttraumatischen belastungsstörung = Changed self-perception in the posttraumatic stress disorder transparancy illusion and self handicapping.

Traumapatienten zeigen eine Reihe von Veränderungen in der sozialen Wahrnehmung von anderen Personen und sich selbst. In der sozialen Kognitionsforschung sind im Zusammenhang mit der sozialen Kognition die Konzepte »Transparency Illusion« (TI: Durchschautwerden-Können-Illusion) und Self-Handicapping (SH: Sich-selbst-Handicappen) beschrieben. Wir untersuchten diese beiden Phänomene mit neu entwickelten Methoden in einer Gruppenvergleichsstudie bei PTBS-Patienten. 16 Patienten mit einer partiellen oder voll ausgeprägten PTBS wurden mit einer gesunden Kontrollgruppe verglichen.

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VI Congreso Internacional sobre Vi?ctimas del Terrorismo : Salamanca (Espan?a) 11, 12 y 13 de febrero de 2010

Desde el año 2004, a través del Observatorio Internacional de Víctimas del Terrorismo de laFundación Universitaria San Pablo CEU, vienen celebrándose nuevas ediciones de los CongresosInternacionales sobre Víctimas del Terrorismo.

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Vulnerability factors for disaster-induced child post-traumatic stress disorder: the case for low family resilience and previous mental illness

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to investigate whether parent report of family resilience predicted children's disaster-induced post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and general emotional symptoms, independent of a broad range of variables including event-related factors, previous child mental illness and social connectedness. METHODS: A total of 568 children (mean age = 10.2 years, SD = 1.3) who attended public primary schools, were screened 3 months after Cyclone Larry devastated the Innisfail region of North Queensland.

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Using the international classification of functioning, disability and health (ICF) to describe the functioning of traumatised refugees

Abstract: The aim of this project was to use the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) to develop an interdisciplinary instrument consisting of a Core Set, a number of codes selected from ICF, to describe the overall health condition of traumatised refugees.

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Using the MMPI to Assess Reported Cognitive Disturbances and Somatization as a Core Feature of Complex PTSD

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) clinical scales as well as 4 sets of MMPI items known to be sensitive to neurological dysfunction (closed head injury, cerebrovascular disorder) were administered to survivors of childhood physical and/or sexual abuse and to non-abused adults. As predicted, relative to the comparison group of psychiatric patients, the abused participants scored significantly higher on Scale 8 (Schizophrenia) and on all 4 sets of items associated with neurological dysfunction.

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Underdiagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder in at risk youth

Three studies examined the diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in agencies treating at risk youth. Studies 1 and 2 (1999) found that baseline PTSD diagnosis was rare in a residential and an outpatient agency (2.3% and 5.4%, respectively) whereas trauma-focused interviews identified PTSD in 47.7% and 44.6% of these clients. Subsequent training efforts increased awareness of PTSD and recognition of unique issues in assessing at risk youth.

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Trauma exposure and hypothalamic-pituitary- adrenal axis functioning in mentally healthy Dutch peacekeeping veterans, 10-25 years after deployment

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis alterations have been found in veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is unclear whether trauma exposure during adulthood in the absence of psychopathology is also associated with HPA-axis dysregulation. Thirty-six trauma-exposed peacekeepers, 23 nonexposed peacekeepers, and 25 nonexposed civilians, all without lifetime psychopathology were studied. Basal HPA-axis functioning was assessed with salivary cortisol samples obtained over 2 days. HPA-axis reactivity was assessed with the dexamethasone/corticotropin-releasing hormone test.

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Trauma exposure in relation to basal salivary cortisol and the hormone response to the dexamethasone/CRH test in male railway employees without lifetime psychopathology

Dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-axis is hypothesized to underlie stress-related psychiatric disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We aimed to explore whether trauma exposure is associated with alterations in HPA-axis functioning in the absence of lifetime psychiatric morbidity. We included 39 trauma-exposed healthy male subjects (mean age=47 years, SD=9.2) and 24 non-exposed healthy male controls (mean age=47.4 years, SD=14.5). All subjects were free of lifetime psychopathology.

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Trauma history and risk of the irritable bowel syndrome in women veterans

BACKGROUND: Over 1.8 million women in the U.S. are veterans of the armed services. They are at increased risk of occupational traumas, including military sexual trauma. AIM: To evaluate the association between major traumas and irritable bowel syndrome among women veterans accessing Veteran Affairs (VA) healthcare. METHODS: We administered questionnaires to assess trauma history as well as IBS, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression symptoms to 337 women veterans seen for primary care at VA Women's Clinic between 2006 and 2007.

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