Trauma in the newsroom: social support, post-traumatic stress and post-traumatic growth among journalists working with terror

Figures & data

Table 1. Possible scale ranges, means, standard deviations, and correlations among study variables.

	Possible Scale Ranges	M (SD)	1.	2.	3.	4.	5.	6.	7.	8.
1. PTSS^1	0–110	16.43 (14.43)
2. INV^2	0–40	8.15 (7.12)	.907***
3. AVO^3	0–40	6.55 (6.20)	.863***	.639***
4. HYP^4	0–30	2.81 (4.16)	.838***	.719***	.579***
5. PTG^5	3–18	20.78 (2.46)	.291***	.325***	.192***	.231***
6. PS^6	6–30	19.87 (4.56)	−.092	−.059	−.083	−.112*	.127*
7. RS^7	0–5	2.19 (1.58)	.112*	.091	.046	.154**	−.013	.238***
8. RR^8	2–10	7.18 (2.00)	−.003	.074	−.064	.019	.325***	.473***	.104
9. ED^9	3–15	6.61 (2.61)	.369***	.301***	.290***	.337***	.157**	−.219***	.044	−.115*

***p < .001, **p < .01, *p < .05

¹PTSS = Post-traumatic stress symptoms, total sum score

²INV = Post-traumatic invading memories

³AVO = Post-traumatic avoidance

⁴HYP = Post-traumatic hyperarousal

⁵PTG = Post-traumatic growth

⁶PS = Perceived support

⁷RS = Received support

⁸RR = Received recognition

⁹ED = Ethical dilemmas

Figure 1. The effect of social support and ethical dilemmas on posttraumatic stress symptoms and posttraumatic growth.

χ²(256) = 458.554, p < .001; CFI = .901; TLI = .884; RMSEA = .046; SRMR = .065, *p < .05, **p < .001

Table

Post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS)

22 items from the IES-R (Weiss, 2004).

Post-traumatic growth (PTG)

6 items from the PTGI (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2004).

Perceived support (PS)

2 items from the tsunami-study (Thoresen, 2007) 4 items constructed for the study:

As colleagues, we are good at taking care of each other after coverage of crises and catastrophes. As colleagues, we are good at taking care of other after coverage of accidents, crime, etc. Our leaders are good at following up on us after coverage of crises and catastrophes. Our leaders are good at following us up on us after coverage of accidents, crime, etc.

Received support (RS)

5 items from the tsunami-study (Thoresen, 2007).

Received recognition (RR)

2 items from the tsunami-study (Thoresen, 2007)

Ethical dilemmas (ED)

1 item from the tsunami-study (Thoresen, 2007), 2 items constructed for the study:

I was insecure about how to carry out simple work tasks because I wasn’t sure about our rules of conduct. I found myself in ethically challenging situations caused by factors I could not plan for/that were beyond my control.

Weiss, D. (2004). The impact of event scale – revised. In J. Wilson & K. Terence (Eds.), Assessing psychological trauma and PTSD (2nd ed., pp. 168–189). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

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Tedeschi, R., & Calhoun, L. (2004). The foundations of posttraumatic growth: New considerations. Psychological Enquiry, 15(1), 93–102.

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Thoresen, S. (2007). Mestring og stress hos innsatspersonell og journalister mobilisert til Tsunamikatastrofen [Coping and stress in rescue personnel and journalists involved in the tsunami disaster]. Oslo: Nasjonalt Kunnskapssenter om Vold og Traumatisk Stress.

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