Exposure to Traumatic Events and PTSD in a Postconflict and Disaster-Prone Area

ABSTRACT

The present study examines lifetime exposure to traumatic events and the rate of PTSD among university students living in a postconflict and disaster-prone area. Two self-report questionnaires, namely the Life Events Checklist and a PTSD screening tool, were used in the study. PTSD was found in 21% of respondents. Approximately 96% of the respondents have been exposed to traumatic events during their lifetime. Both genders have the same rate of PTSD (p = 0.9) and exposure to traumatic events (p = 0.327). Findings suggest that lifetime exposures to traumatic events are high among students living in this region.

KEYWORDS:

• Disaster
• postconflict
• PTSD
• traumatic event

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Marthoenis

Marthoenis is a lecturer at the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health Nursing of Syiah Kuala University in Banda Aceh. His research interests are the epidemiology of mental disorders and the social problems of people with mental disorders.

Inong Meutia

Inong Meutia was a master’s degree student of disaster management at Syiah Kuala University and a lecturer at Ibnu Sina Nursing Academy in Sabang, Aceh. Her research interest includes nursing and disaster management

Hizir Sofyan

Hizir Sofyan is a statistician at Syiah Kuala University. His research interests include the use of advanced statistical methods in health research.

Meryam Schouler-Ocak

Meryam Schouler-Ocak is a senior psychiatrist at the Charite Universitätsmedizin Berlin. She is the chair of the cross-cultural psychiatry section of EPA and the president of the German-Turkish Association for Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosocial Health. Her research interests include migration and mental health.