Traumatische Erfahrungen und Posttraumatische Belastungsstörung bei Journalisten

A questionnaire study on work-related trauma of journalists was conducted on the internet. 61 journalists (22 women) provided information about the type and frequency of highly stressful assignments and traumatic life events, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PCL-C), depression (CES-D) and coping style (emotional competence, FAPK, 3; sense of coherence, SOC). 46% of the participants lived in the USA, 41% in Europe; their mean age was 37 years and they had an average job experience of 13 years. They reported an average of 81 assignments in which they had been confronted with seriously injured, dying or dead persons or had worked at the risk of their own life. 13% had developed a full and 15% a partial post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Compared to less disturbed individuals, the participants with (full or partial) PTSD reported significantly more often about violence in their original families, depressive symptoms and deficiencies in their emotional competence.     

Reporting daily and critical events: journalists’ perceptions of coping and savouring strategies,and of organizational support

Although journalists are increasingly being viewed by scientific research as an at-risk occupational group, there is still little knowledge on their strategies for dealing with occupational stressors, in both daily work settings and in critical scenarios, and on the support provided by the media organizations. Taking the occupational stress model as a framework, 25 Portuguese journalists, experienced in reporting critical events, were interviewed on their perceptions of the coping and savouring strategies they use, as well as of their organizations’ support in daily work and critical events. Differences among these variables, according to deployment frequency to critical events were statistically analysed. The data content analysis showed that emotion-focused coping strategies were the most frequently mentioned for both settings, whereas savouring strategies were only referred to for critical events. Perceptions of coping strategies were four times more frequent than those of savouring, and the need for organizational support was especially stressed. Significant differences were identified in all variables according to the number of deployments to critical events. These findings may contribute to a reflection on the role of media organizations in promoting journalists’ occupational health in both settings. The article closes by suggesting directions for future studies.     

Job demands,coping, and impacts of occupational stress among journalists: a systematic review

This paper systematically reviews empirical research published from 2002 to July 2015 investigating journalists’ occupational stressors, coping strategies, and the impacts of these variables on the health and well-being of such professionals, whether on their daily work or as special envoys to critical scenarios. A meta-analytic approach was displayed to analyse the association between exposure to traumatic events during work and journalists’ symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Twenty eight articles met the inclusion criteria and revealed that very few studies distinguish (and none compare) the distress of journalists in their daily work from the distress of reporting major disasters, not a single study addressed positive emotional responses and only one research study focused on an in-depth analysis of the most commonly used coping strategies by journalists. The impacts of occupational stress among these professionals were sorely negative (e.g., burnout, PTSD), and no study was found to address the design and assessment of preventive interventions for these impacts on the health and well-being of journalists. Thirteen studies were included in a random-effects model meta-analysis and a small to moderate effect size (r = 0.272) between exposure to traumatic events during assignments and PTSD was found. The article closes with directions for future studies.     

Duty-Related Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms in 911 Telecommunicators: The Roles of Childhood Trauma Exposure and Emotion-Focused Coping

A history of childhood trauma exposure has been linked to the development of posttraumatic stress symptoms in adulthood following new exposure. Unhealthy coping behaviors that could develop or be utilized in response to early trauma could lend themselves to psychological issues in adulthood. Emotion-focused and problem-focused coping strategies in relation to stressful duty-related situations are examined as indirect pathways through which childhood trauma exposure could be associated with duty-related posttraumatic stress symptoms in 911 telecommunicators (N = 808). Multiple mediation models revealed that 3 of the 4 emotion-focused coping strategies, but not the problem-focused strategies, functioned as significant mediators in the association between childhood exposure and duty-related posttraumatic stress symptoms. Pairwise comparisons showed that self-controlling and escape-avoidance strategies were the strongest pathways of the indirect childhood trauma exposure–posttraumatic stress symptoms association. Implications of results regarding coping in response to new traumatic events in adulthood and potential research and intervention directions are discussed.     

Coping with Missile Attack: Resources, Strategies, and Outcomes

ABSTRACT The coping process was examined in a group of Israeli subjects experiencing SCUD missile attacks during the Persian Gulf War. We were interested in examining the relationship of coping resources, optimism, perceived control, and coping strategies, to anxiety, to physical symptoms, and to cognitive functioning during a real crisis. Data were gathered via structured questionnaires in the midst of the Persian Gulf War (February 1991) on a sample of 261 adult respondents residing in northern Israel. Although people reported a mixture of palliative and active coping strategies, it was the use of palliative coping efforts that predicted greater anxiety and physical symptoms. Subjects with greater coping resources used more palliative and active coping strategies and had higher cognitive functioning. However, active coping did not predict any of the negative stress reactions (i.e., anxiety and physical symptoms). People who perceived being in control of the situation reported using less palliative coping and fewer symptoms. That active coping did not predict negative stress reactions may have been a function of the severity of the stressor, and the resultant high levels of anxiety that were engendered. Overall, these findings do point to a different coping process in a grave and ongoing disaster situation than that reported in reaction to more normal life events.     

Children's Coping in the Context of Disasters and Terrorism

Disasters and terrorism present significant and often overwhelming challenges for children and families worldwide. Individual, family, and social factors influence disaster reactions and the diverse ways in which children cope. This article links conceptualizations of stress and coping to empirical knowledge of children's disaster reactions, identifies limitations in our current understanding, and suggests areas for future study of disaster coping. Coping strategies, developmental trajectories influencing coping, and the interplay between parent and child coping represent critical areas for advancing the field and for informing programs and services that benefit children's preparedness and foster resilience in the face of mass trauma.     

Attributions,Cognitions, and Coping Styles: Teleworkers' Reactions to Work-Related Problems1

Based on the attributional reformulation of learned helplessness theory (Abramson, Seligman, & Teasdale, 1978) and Lazarus and Launier's (1978) primary-secondary appraisal theory of stress, the present study sought to examine teleworkers' reactions to their work-related problems. The role of attributions about the sources, and cognitions about the consesquences, of these problems in promoting positive adaptation was addressed. In particular, it was predicted that teleworkers who made optimistic attributions and cognitions would be more likely to employ problem-focused coping strategies and, as a result, report more positive psychological and job-related outcomes. Based on a survey sample of 192 teleworkers, the results indicated that a tendency to engage in self-blame was related to the use of emotion-focused coping strategies. In turn, there was evidence linking emotion-focused coping strategies to negative outcomes and problem-focused coping strategies to positive outcomes. The results are discussed in relation to attributional approaches to stress which highlight the importance of cognitions about the consequences of negative events. Finally, implications for the training of teleworkers are presented.     

Trauma reactivity, avoidant coping, and PTSD symptoms: a moderating relationship?

In the immediate aftermath of a traumatic event, many individuals experience physiological reactivity in response to reminders of the traumatic event that typically lessens over time. However, an overreliance on avoidant coping strategies may interfere with the natural recovery process, particularly for those who are highly reactive to trauma reminders. In the current investigation, we examined avoidant coping as a moderator of the association between heart rate reactivity to a trauma monologue measured shortly after a traumatic event and severity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms measured several months later. Fifty-five female survivors of assault completed PTSD diagnostic interviews and a self-report coping measure and participated in a trauma monologue procedure that included continuous heart rate measurement. These procedures were completed within 1 month of the assault and again 3 months postassault. After we controlled for the effect of initial symptom levels, the interaction of heart rate reactivity to the trauma monologue and avoidant coping measured at Time 1 was associated with PTSD symptom severity at Time 2. Individuals who are relatively highly reliant on avoidant coping strategies and relatively highly reactive to trauma reminders may be at greatest risk of maintaining or potentially increasing their PTSD symptoms within the first few months following the trauma. These findings may help inform early intervention efforts for survivors of traumatic events.     

Coping responses in the midst of terror: The July 22 terror attack at Utøya Island in Norway

This study examined the peri‐trauma coping responses of 325 survivors, mostly youth, after the July 22, 2011 terror attack on Utøya Island in Norway. The aim was to understand peri‐trauma coping responses and their relation to subsequent post‐traumatic stress (PTS) reactions. Respondents were interviewed face‐to‐face 4–5 months after the shooting, and most were interviewed at their homes. Peri‐trauma coping was assessed using ten selected items from the “How I Cope Under Pressure Scale” (HICUPS), covering the dimensions of problem solving, positive cognitive restructuring, avoidance, support seeking, seeking understanding, and religious coping. PTS reactions were assessed with the UCLA PTSD Reaction Index. The participants reported using a wide variety of coping strategies. Problem solving, positive cognitive restructuring, and seeking understanding strategies were reported most often. Men reported using more problem‐solving strategies, whereas women reported more emotion‐focused strategies. There were no significant associations between age and the use of coping strategies. Problem solving and positive cognitive restructuring were significantly associated with fewer PTS reactions. The results are discussed in light of previous research and may help to inform early intervention efforts for survivors of traumatic events.     

The Impact of Child Symptom Severity on Stress Among Parents of Children with ASD: The Moderating Role of Coping Styles

We examined the impact of autism severity and parental coping strategies on stress in parents of children with ASD. Children’s autism symptoms and parental coping strategies (task-oriented, emotion-oriented, social diversion, and distraction) were evaluated as predictors of four types of parental stress (parent and family problems, pessimism, child characteristics, and physical incapacity). In order to examine potential buffering effects of coping strategies on stress associated with the child’s symptom severity, the interactive effects of autism symptoms with coping strategies were also examined. Participants included 77 primary caregivers of a child with ASD. Using multiple regression analyses, emotion-oriented coping scores were associated with more parent and family problems, and task-oriented coping was associated with lower physical incapacity scores. The child’s autism severity was the strongest and most consistent predictor of stress. Further, emotion-oriented coping moderated the relationship between pessimism stress and autism symptomatology, and distraction coping was a moderator between parent and family stress and autism symptoms. Results indicate that increasing our knowledge of the coping strategies that are more or less effective and under what conditions some coping strategies may be either beneficial or harmful for this population of parents has direct implications for treatment and parent education efforts.     

Collective trauma and post-traumatic symptoms in the biblical narrative of ancient Israel

According to the biblical books of Exodus and Numbers, the early Israelites suffered recurrent plagues and other events which comprise significant collective trauma coinciding with their physical and spiritual birth as a people. These ancient narratives reflect a fledgling people's coping with high levels of transitional stress, multiple crises, and significant losses attendant upon slavery and genocide. Inspection of the text also reveals signs of collective post-traumatic reactions among the Israelites. Relevant psychological perspectives on stress, loss, and trauma can therefore usefully illuminate specific biblical events. Trauma may well be implicated in the etiology of certain stringent biblical commandments, including “the ban” and related severe restrictions against Israelite intermarriage. The Bible may also contain insights bearing upon social action aimed at preventing or coping with epidemics and for overcoming psychological trauma, of relevance to a modern positive community psychology.     

Application of a stress and coping model to antenatal depressive symptomatology

This study examined the utility of a stress/coping model of antenatal depressive symptomatology. The direct and moderating effects of appraisal, coping resources and coping strategies on depression were explored. A total of 242 primiparous women completed questionnaires during the third trimester of pregnancy. Predictors included life events, coping resources (social support, quality of women's earlier relationships with parents), appraisal (threat, self-efficacy) and coping strategies (wishful thinking, positive reappraisal, problem solving, emotional approach). Results of regression analyses indicated that higher depression was related to higher stressful life events, threat appraisal and wishful thinking coping, and lower positive reappraisal coping. The expected stress exacerbation effects of wishful thinking on depression were supported. There was no support for the expected stress buffering effects of coping resources and coping strategies on depression. Findings provide preliminary support for the use of a stress/coping model to guide future research into psychosocial predictors of antenatal depression.     

Coping Strategies in Adolescents

Children and adolescents report that they experience stress in their lives and that they attempt to cope with that stress. Although most research on stress and coping has focused on adults, recent attention to adolescents suggests there are developmental changes in coping during adolescence and that particular coping strategies vary with gender and the type of stressors adolescents experience. This study examined coping strategies used by male and female students in early, middle, and late adolescence when they were coping with two different types of stressors: daily hassles and major life events. Older adolescents used a greater variety coping strategies and used methods that directly reduce the impact of the stressor and involved a cognitive component (e.g., planful problem solving; reappraisal) more often than younger adolescents. Adolescents in all age groups varied their strategies in relation to the type of stressor, but there were no significant gender differences. The findings suggest that significant changes during a relatively short period during adolescence may affect adaptive processes and have implications for intervention efforts aimed at reducing the negative effects of stress during this period of development.     

Leisure and Its Role as a Strategy for Coping with Work Stress

The purpose of this study was to determine the dimensions of leisure that were important to people coping with work-related stress. Data were provided by 695 principals and deputy principals from secondary schools throughout New Zealand who were experiencing major legislative and organizational change in the education sector. The results produced a robust, replicable, and reliable two-factor structure using FACTOREP, a factor replication procedure. It appears that leisure is best measured in terms of active-challenge and passive-recuperative dimensions when considered in relation to coping with work-related stress. The results show that for the present occupational group, the passive nature of leisure is more important for coping with work stress. These results have implications for those involved in workplace health promotion where the emphasis thus far has been on physical activity and fitness. The results also confirm the importance of determining the most appropriate number of factors to rotate.     

Attachment Styles Predicting Posttsunami Trauma: The Mediating Effects of Coping

This study examined whether tsunami survivors’ coping styles mediate the effects of attachment styles on posttsunami trauma. Four hundred and sixteen survivors were interviewed from Tamil Nadu (India) 14 months posttsunami. Attachment style, coping, and posttsunami trauma were assessed using inventories, and exposure was assessed using a checklist. The female and the more exposed survivors experienced more posttsunami trauma. After controlling the effects of disaster exposure and gender, high fearfully attached persons had more trauma, used more problem-focused coping, and less active and avoidant emotional coping. High dismissively attached persons had less trauma, used less problem-focused coping, and more active and avoidant emotional coping. Attachment styles are related to trauma and coping styles, but indirect effects of attachment styles via coping styles do not predict posttsunami trauma.     

Roles of Leisure in Coping with Stress Among University Students: A Repeated-Assessment Field Study

This article reports findings of a study to examine the effects of leisure coping on various stress coping outcomes including: immediate outcomes (perceived coping effectiveness, perceived satisfaction with coping outcomes, and perceived stress reduction) and distal or long-term outcomes (physical and mental ill-health and psychological well-being), above and beyond the contributions of general coping - coping not directly associated with leisure. A repeated-assessment field design was used to examine ways in which university students cope with stressors in their daily lives. The study found that leisure coping beliefs (leisure-generated dispositional coping resources) significantly predicted lower levels of mental and physical ill-health and greater levels of psychological well-being above and beyond the effects of general coping. Also, the use of leisure coping strategies (situation-specific stress coping strategies through leisure) was significantly associated with higher levels of perceived coping effectiveness and stress reduction when the effects of general coping were taken into account. Significant contributions of specific leisure coping dimensions were found as well.     

Adverse Life Events, Coping and Internalizing and Externalizing Behaviors in Urban African American Youth

African American youth residing in low income urban neighborhoods are at increased risk of experiencing negative life events in multiple domains, increasing their risk for internalizing and externalizing behaviors. However, little is known about youth’s differential responses to life event stress, or protective processes and coping strategies for urban African American youth exposed to adverse life events. Thus, the present study examined whether variability in predominantly low income, urban African American youth’s responses to life event stress are accounted for by the type of life event experienced or the type of coping strategies used. Participants were a community sample of 353 urban African American youth (52.8 % girls; age range 8–12 years) who participated in the Multiple Opportunities to Reach Excellence (MORE) Project. Youth reported about their experiences with adverse life events, coping strategies, and internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Results indicated that violent life events were uniquely associated with externalizing behavior, while discrimination and economic stress were uniquely associated with internalizing behavior. The utility of coping strategies varied by gender, such that avoiding problems was protective for girls who experienced violent life events, but not for boys. For boys, exposure to violence was significantly positively associated with externalizing symptoms regardless of the amount of avoiding problems coping used. Findings suggest that interventions to develop coping strategies may need to be gender-specific as well as tailored for the types of stressors common for low income urban youth.     

Coping patterns of in vitro fertilization nurse coordinators: Strategies for combating low outcome effectance

Abstract

Data were gathered concerning coping strategies that nurse coordinators working in the field of in vitro fertilization would use to meet typical work-related stressors. Causality orientation—or tendency to perceive oneself as autonomous, controlled or helpless—was also measured. It was hypothesized that nurses using problem-focused/disengaged strategies, such as thinking about therapeutic successes or trying not to dwell on stressors, and who were high in autonomy, would be most effective in coping with situations where control over outcomes is limited. Statistical analyses revealed a group of nurses following the coping pattern described in the hypothesis. These individuals reported less work-related stress than other nurse coordinators.     

Trauma and substance use: the role of defences and religious engagement

Substance use disorders commonly co-occur with posttraumatic stress disorder and are associated with greater impairment. There is some evidence to suggest that different coping strategies, including defence mechanisms and religious forms of coping, may buffer the relationship between trauma and SUDs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential moderating roles of defence mechanisms and religious coping on the already-established relationship between trauma symptoms and substance abuse. Data were gathered from a sample of college students (N?=?380). Trauma symptoms were associated with increased substance use and abuse. The use of immature defences was significantly associated with trauma and substance use. Increased substance abuse was also associated with higher rates of negative religious coping. Individuals who endorsed trauma symptoms were also more likely to use positive and negative religious coping. Defences and coping did not moderate the relationship between trauma and substance use.     

Abortion and Mental Health

Abstract

Unwanted pregnancy and abortion are common life events, and therapists are likely to work with clients who experience them. Legal abortion currently entails little physical or mental health risk; most women currently cope effectively with these life events without need of clinical intervention. But current abortion politics include efforts to make abortion a more threatening, stressful, and stigmatized experience and to create a “postabortion syndrome.” Using a stress and coping framework, we examine how antiabortion activists spread myths and misinformation aimed at women's appraisal processes, and discuss approaches therapists can use to enhance women's strategies for coping with abortion. We also discuss specific issues and useful techniques for counseling about abortion concerns, including cultural sensitivity and strategies for promoting positive sexual health.