A Study of Posttraumatic Stress and Growth in Tsunami Relief Volunteers

Abstract

Twenty female relief volunteers who had participated in the post-tsunami relief operations in the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu, India, under the aegis of nongovernmental organizations and charitable trusts were assessed for posttraumatic stress, posttraumatic growth, and dissociative experiences. They also responded to a set of questions in order to determine the direction (upward-downward) of their counterfactual thoughts. The observed data were subjected to a multivariate analysis of variance and multiple discriminant analysis to identify the key underlying dimensions. The main effects of amnesia, depersonalization, percentage of dissociation, and family type were highly significant. Discriminant coefficients suggested the importance of relating to others and proactive coping. They also suggested the importance of intrusion, avoidance, and appreciation of life.

Notes

^a In order of absolute size of correlation within function.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Braj Bhushan

Braj Bhushan, Ph.D., works as Associate Professor of Psychology at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India. He has thirty-six journal papers/book chapters and three books to his credit. His areas of interest include trauma psychology and cognitive neuropsychology.

J. Sathya Kumar

J. Sathya Kumar, Ph.D., is currently working as Professor of Human Resources at Thiagarajar School of Management, Madurai, India, where he teaches behavioral science. He was trained in Australia in CBT, which is his area of interest and practice. His other areas of interest are counseling and psychotherapy.