No description available.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Background: Both human and animal studies indicate that early trauma can influence brain development and can lead to dysregulation and dysfunction. This includes cognitive deficits. The risk of childhood trauma (CHT) and resulting cognitive deficits are well established in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This is not the case for Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). The experience of CHT does not inevitably lead to later psychopathology, suggesting that resiliency factors may be at play. Indeed, research shows that resilience is protective against the development of PTSD although this has not been well studied in SAD, particularly in the context of childhood trauma and neurocognition. Methods: This exploratory study assessed for the possible contribution of CHT on cognitive functioning in adults with SAD. We assessed 44 individuals who formed part of a larger study on neurocognitive and neuroimaging correlates in a sample drawn from the Western Cape, South Africa. Using a neuropsychological test battery, memory, attention and executive functioning (EF) (underpinned by hippocampal, cingulate cortex and pre frontal-cortex function respectively) were assessed. CHT was assessed with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). We compared neurocognitive and resilience (CD-RISC) variables across four groups (SAD with trauma, SAD without trauma, PTSD and healthy controls) using analysis of variance (ANOVA) statistics. Results: None of the groups differed significantly on cognitive variables, however, on average all outcomes were in the predicted direction. Separate analyses for the traumatised groups only showed a significant effect for EF and attention, suggesting an association between EF, attention and CHT. On a measure of resilience, healthy controls had significantly higher resilience scores than the other 3 groups. Unexpectedly, SAD and PTSD groups with CHT had higher resilience scores than the SAD group without CHT, suggesting that resilience moderates CHT. Lastly individuals with SAD and PTSD with CHT reported more emotional abuse and neglect than any other type of childhood trauma. Conclusion: This exploratory study is unique in its comparative assessment of the effects of CHT and resilience on discussed. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Agtergrond: Beide mens- en dierestudies dui daarop dat vroeë trauma brein ontwikkeling kan beïnvloed en kan lei tot disfunksie. Dit sluit kognitiewe tekortkominge in. Die risiko van vroeë kinderjare trauma (KJT) en die gevolglike kognitiewe tekortkominge is goed gevestig in Posttraumatiese stresversteuring (PTSV). Dit is egter nie die geval in Sosiale angsversteuring (SAV) nie. Die ervaring van KJT lei nie noodwendig tot latere psigopatologie nie, wat daarop dui dat veerkragtigheidsfaktore 'n rol kan speel. Trouens, navorsing toon dat veerkragtigheid beskermend is teen die ontwikkeling van PTSV, maar dit is egter nie behoorlik nagevors in SAV nie - veral nie in die konteks van vroeë kinderjare en neurokognisie nie. Metodologie: Hierdie verkennende studie het die invloed van KJT op kognitiewe funksionering in 44 individue geëvalueer. Hierdie studie het deel gevorm van 'n groter studie oor neurokognitiewe- en neurobeeldingskorrelate in 'n steekproef wat gewerf is uit die Wes-Kaap, Suid-Afrika. ‘n Neurosielkundige toetsbattery was gebruik om geheue, aandag en uitvoerende funksionering (UF) (wat onderskeidelik deur die hippokampus, cingulate korteks en prefrontale korteks ondersteun word) te assesseer. KJT is beoordeel met die "Childhood Trauma Questionnaire" (CTQ). 'n Analise van variansie (ANOVA) was gebruik om die neurokognitiewe en veerkragtigheid (CD-RISC) veranderlikes oor vier groepe (SAV met trauma, SAV sonder trauma, PTSV en gesonde kontrole) te vergelyk. Resultate: Nie een van die groepe het beduidend verskil van mekaar op grond van kognitiewe veranderlikes nie, maar oor die algemeen was alle uitkomste in die voorspelde rigting. Afsonderlike analises op die getraumatiseerde groepe het 'n beduidende effek gehad vir UF en aandag, wat dui op 'n assosiasie tussen UF, aandag en KJT. Die gesonde kontrole het beduidende hoër veerkragtigheid tellings as die ander 3 groepe gehad. SAV en PTSV groepe met KJT het teen verwagtinge hoër veerkragtigheidstellings gehad as die SAV sonder KJT, wat daarop dui dat veerkragtigheid KJT modereer. Laastens, individue met SAV en PTSV met KJT het meer emosionele mishandeling en verwaarlosing gerapporteer as enige ander tipe kinderjare trauma. Bespreking: Hierdie verkennende studie is uniek in sy vergelykende evaluering van die invloed van KJT en veerkragtigheid op die neurokognisie in deelnemers met SAV en PTSV. Beperkings en aanbevelings vir toekomstige navorsing word bespreek.

Background: The literature suggests a consensus that individuals can become traumatised through listening to another’s trauma. Much of this research, however, has focused on individuals who have had direct, face-to-face contact with the primary victims of trauma. It therefore appears that there is a paucity of research looking at contact which is less direct, such as telephone contact. Aims: The current research aimed to explore the levels of secondary traumatic stress and posttraumatic stress disorder in a sample of Samaritan telephone volunteers, with a view to understanding some of the correlates of trauma. It also aimed to explore the personal construct systems of a sub-sample of Samaritan telephone volunteers, and explore any relationships between personal construct systems and trauma. Method: A cross-sectional design was employed. Questionnaires were used to assess levels of secondary traumatic stress and posttraumatic stress in Samaritan telephone volunteers spread across the United Kingdom. Repertory grid technique was used with a sub-sample of Samaritan telephone volunteers to elicit bipolar constructs comparing themselves and others. Results: 299 Samaritan telephone volunteers completed or partially completed the questionnaires, and of these 50 volunteers completed the repertory grids. Levels of secondary trauma (as determined by the Modified Secondary Trauma Scale) correlated with discrepancy in construing of the current and ideal self, levels of posttraumatic stress and exposure to potentially traumatic events. The Samaritans were not found to be suffering with secondary trauma. Degree of elaboration of self-construing reduced after the named traumatic event, and there was a significant difference in degree of elaboration for ‘self after traumatic event’ on the emergent poles of constructs. Conclusions: This research appears to be the first dedicated to assessing secondary trauma in telephone crisis line volunteers, lending some support to Sewell and Cromwell’s (1990) personal construct model of posttraumatic stress. The findings of this study challenge crisis lines to think about secondary trauma, and to implement some teaching and training around this area. Additionally, it reinforces that further research in the area is needed, and highlights the relative merits of employing a repertory grid methodology alongside questionnaires in understanding trauma.

Experiencing a physical health condition can have wide ranging physical and psychological outcomes for an individual, impacting on many aspects of daily living. The psychological outcomes can vary widely, from extreme psychological distress to psychological growth, and are complex and dynamic. Traditionally, research has focused on those experiencing psychological distress, despite evidence showing that many individuals are able to achieve positive psychological outcomes. The literature is unclear in defining different positive psychological outcomes, and indeed distinguishing different outcomes and processes from one another. Attention needs to be paid to the definition applied to individuals who are reporting positive psychological outcomes following physical health difficulties and further understanding the process through which individuals achieve these outcomes. This empirical study aimed to address some of the gaps in the literature, by exploring how six individuals reporting positive psychological outcomes following spinal cord injury described and explained these outcomes. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to investigate the experience of these individuals. Three superordinate themes were extracted: "Living a normal life, just doing things differently", "Overcoming challenges: Determination to succeed" and "Using the resources available to me". The research supported the idea that positive psychological outcomes arise through a complex interplay between personality, cognitive and environmental factors. Theoretically, this research has implications for defining positive psychological outcomes following spinal cord injury, in addition to contributing towards future theoretical frameworks that aim to provide a basis for understanding the process through which positive psychological outcomes following spinal cord injury are achieved. Clinically, this research provides a narrative that can be used with people following spinal cord injury and also provides evidence for the use of cognitive screening measures such as appraisal style, to identify individuals who may be showing less adaptive cognitions.

Psychologists' diagnostic choices when the specificity of child sexual abuse in a clinical vignette is varied was examined. The degree to which Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was judged to be a viable diagnostic choice among a set of diagnoses was analyzed under conditions with sexual abuse stated, implied, not stated, and excluded. PTSD was rated as more likely for the stated and implied sexual abuse vignettes than for the not stated and excluded vignettes.

Although men are more likely to experience traumatic events, the risk of developing Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is at least twice as high in women than in men after exposure to comparable traumas. These findings are more consistent in response to some types of trauma (e.g., assaultive violence) than others (e.g., natural disaster). There has been very little systematic study of the sources of these gender differences. This study began to explore the contribution of gender-related beliefs about appropriate responses to trauma by investigating the impact of victim sex and trauma type as well as participant sex, sex-role orientation, and personal trauma history on attitudes towards victims. Ninety-three male and 179 female students were administered the Bem Sex Role Inventory, the Trauma History Questionnaire, and a vignette measure of attitudes towards victims. Participants evaluated male victims significantly less favorably than female victims, and females had more positive attitudes towards victims than males. Feminine sex-typed and androgynous women rated victims more favorably than masculine sex-typed men and women. The interaction between sex of victim and trauma type was not significant. A positive relation was observed between personal trauma exposure and attitudes towards male victims among male participants only. These findings contribute towards a theoretical understanding of gender and PTSD, and also have important clinical applications.

The purpose of this study was to compare pre- and post-treatment differences in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in male adolescents with conduct disorder. The Children's PTSD Inventory and the PTSD Reaction Index were used to diagnose PTSD and determine trauma type (Type I single trauma or Type II recurring trauma). Pre- and post-treatment measures included the PTSD Reaction Index, the Children's Depression Inventory, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory, the Dissociative Experiences Scale, and the Youth Self-Report. The six-week, biweekly group treatment included education, exposure, and cognitive elements. Primary hypotheses that the abused group would statistically differ from the non-abused group in terms of pre- and post-treatment levels of avoidance, dissociation, anger/aggression, self-destructiveness, social problems, and overall levels of PTSD symptoms, were not confirmed. Overall, group therapy participants experienced statistically significant decreases in PTSD symptoms over the course of therapy. Results are discussed in light of clinical implications, recommended cautions given the lack of a robust control group, and directions for future research.

This thesis is focused on the current concept of coping with stressful situations and the concept of posttraumatic growth of healthy siblings of disabled children. The first part of this thesis deals with stressful situations throughout the life of healthy sibling. The work describes the ways of coping with difficult life situations as well as coping strategies oriented to the future (proactive coping). It also focuses on the positive effects of this experience within the concept of posttraumatic growth. The empirical part presents the data obtained from nine respondents. There were used these methods: interview, narrative inspired by life-story, questionnaire PTGI-CZ and PCI questionnaire. The data were elaborated by means of qualitative and quantitative methods. The aim of the thesis was to identify the coping strategies used by siblings and identify potential posttraumatic growth. The most considerable development was reflected in the areas of "appreciation of life" and "personal growth". The most helpful coping strategies were considered to be positive thinking and positive reappraisal of a situation. We believe that these research findings might be helpful in counselling for siblings or in the area of psychotherapy.

Children exposed to trauma experience many negative outcomes including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Fortunately, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment for PTSD. Theoretically it may be that not only do children do better in treatment when their parents are involved, but that there is also a reciprocal relationship such that as children improve their parents feel better as well (and vice a versa). Using data from a randomized trial (Scheeringa & Weems, 2014), this thesis used Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) to test if change in child PTSD symptoms mediates change in parent depression symptoms, and vice a versa, across treatment sessions. Results indicated that maternal depression mediates child PTSD symptoms, and that the reciprocal relationship is present. However, this was only true when child PTSD symptoms were measured by parent report. The addition of this reciprocal relationship finding to the literature and future directions are discussed.

Ser bombero es una labor que conlleva diversos riesgos para la salud física y mental. Estudios previos sugieren que realizar la labor de bombero de manera voluntaria, y la carga laboral asumida como bombero, son dos factores que incrementan los riesgos de padecer síntomas de estrés post-traumático. Consecuentemente, el presente estudio tuvo como objetivo examinar la relación entre los síntomas de trastorno de estrés postraumático (TEPT) y la calidad de vida (CV) en una muestra de bomberos voluntarios de Lima Metropolitana con diferente nivel de carga laboral. Participaron 116 bomberos en actividad (84.5% hombres, M = 31.65 años, DE = 10.11, entre 18 y 66 años). Según el número de horas trabajadas, se dividió a la muestra en dos grupos: el grupo con carga laboral baja (n = 34, todos aquéllos que reportaron un máximo de 20 horas por semana) y el grupo con carga laboral alta (n = 82, más de 20 horas a la semana). Los instrumentos utilizados para evaluar los síntomas de TEPT y la CV, fueron La Escala del Impacto del Evento (IES-R) y el Índice de Calidad de Vida (ICV). En los resultados, se observó que todos los participantes reportaron bajos niveles de sintomatología de TEPT y correlaciones negativas entre sintomatología de TEPT y CV. Al comparar los dos grupos, el grupo de bomberos con alta carga laboral presentó mayores niveles de evitación, que el grupo con carga laboral baja. Se discuten las implicaciones y limitaciones del estudio, además de proveerse recomendaciones para futuras investigaciones. / Being a firefighter is a labour that carries a diverse set of risks for physical and mental health. Previous studies suggest that carrying out the work of a voluntary firefighter and the workload assumed, are two factors that increase the risk of suffering symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Consequently, the current study had as an objective to examine the relationship between the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and the quality of life (QoL) in a sample of voluntary firefighters of Metropolitan Lima with different levels of workload. 116 active firefighters participated (84.5% male, M = 31.65 years old, SD = 10.11, with ages that range from 18 to 66 years old). Regarding the amount of hours worked, the sample was divided in two groups: Low level workload group (n= 34, every person that reported a maximum of 20 hours of work per week) and the High level workload group (n=82, more than 20 hours of work per week). The instruments used to evaluate the symptoms of PTSD and QoL were the Impact of Event Scale Revised (IES-R) and the Quality of Life Index (QLI). In the results, it was observed that all participants reported low levels of PTSD symptomatology and negative correlations between PTSD symptomatology and QoL. When both groups are compared, the High level workload group presented higher levels of avoidance. The implications and limitations of the study are discussed, in addition to providing recommendations for future research. / Tesis