M.A. / The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Act was passed in 1995 and the TRC started its hearings in 1996. The purpose of the TRC was to promote national unity and reconciliation by establishing as complete a picture as possible of the human rights violations that had occurred during the apartheid era and to offer reparations to those who had been affected, as well as to grant amnesty to those who had committed these human rights violations. The TRC had to appoint people to help carry out its functions and deliver a report about human rights violations. Most of the people employed by the TRC to help carry out these functions were South African. Furthermore every South African had been involved in the past in one way or another, purely by being a South African. In this project the author explores, analyses and interprets the experiences of some of the people who were employed by the TRC. The focus of this project is to find out whether being employed by the TRC and having to listen to the stories being brought to the TRC exposed anyone to the possibility of developing what is called secondary traumatisation. This kind of traumatisation is different from the traumatisation that the people relating the stories had gone through during the apartheid years. This kind of traumatisation is said to develop from being exposed to traumatised people.

<p>Post-traumatic arthritis (PTA) is arthritis that develops following joint injury, including meniscus and ligament tears. Current treatments for PTA range from over-the-counter medication to knee replacement; however, in the presence of obesity, the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-1 (IL-1) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α,) are more elevated than in non-obese individuals. The role of fatty acids, obesity, and PTA has been examined, with omega-3 fatty acids showing promise as an anti-inflammatory after injury due to its ability to suppress IL-1 and TNF-α. Due to the difficulty in switching patients’ diets, an alternative solution to increasing omega-3 levels needs to be developed. The Fat-1 enzyme, an omega-3 desaturase that has the ability to convert omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids, may be a good target for increasing the omega-3 levels in the body. </p><p>In the first study, we examined whether Fat-1 transgenic mice on a high-fat diet would exhibit lower levels of PTA degeneration following the destabilization of the medial meniscus (DMM). Both male and female Fat-1 and wild-type (WT) littermates were put on either a control diet (10% fat) or an omega-6 rich high-fat diet (60% fat) and underwent DMM surgery. Arthritic changes were examined 12 weeks post-surgery. Fat-1 mice on both the control and high-fat diet showed protection from PTA-related degeneration, while WT mice showed severe arthritic changes. These findings suggest that the omega-6/omega-3 ratio plays an important role in reducing PTA following injury, and demonstrates the potential therapeutic benefit of the Fat-1 enzyme in preventing PTA in both normal and obese patients following acute injury.</p><p>Following this, we needed to establish a translatable delivery mechanism for getting the Fat-1 enzyme, which is not present in mammalian cells, into patients. In the second study, we examined whether anti-inflammatory gene delivery of the Fat-1 enzyme would prevent PTA following DMM surgery. In vitro testing of both lentivirus (LV) and adeno-associated virus (AAV) was completed to confirm functionality and conformation of the Fat-1 enzyme after transduction. Male WT mice were placed on an omega-6 rich high-fat diet (60% fat) and underwent DMM surgery; either local or systemic AAV injections of the Fat-1 enzyme or Luciferase, a vector control, were given immediately following surgery. 12 weeks post-surgery, arthritic changes were assessed. The systemic administration of the Fat-1 enzyme showed protection from synovial inflammation and osteophyte formation, while administration of Luciferase did not confer protection. These findings suggest the utility of gene therapy to deliver the Fat-1 enzyme, which has potential as a therapeutic for injured obese patients for the prevention of PTA.</p> / Dissertation

The South African service (SAPS) has a reputation for being resilient despite the amounts of trauma they are exposed to. Research has shown that this occupation is one of the most stressful. However, research surrounding the SAPS suggests that police work is one of society’s most stressful occupations. The way in which individuals respond to such traumatisations is dependent on numerous factors, two being personality and coping. In so far, this study investigated three main areas around police reservists – a unit within the SAPS - in order to understand their responses to trauma: whether personality factors were related to post-traumatic stress symptomatology (PTSS) in the police reservist population; whether coping moderated the relationship between personality factors and PTSS; whether a personality factors predict coping style. A quantitative analysis was conducted among a sample of 36 reservists in the Gauteng area of South Africa. This study found that the relationship between Neuroticism and PTSS is mediated by coping, specifically Emotion-Focused and Dysfunctional Coping styles. A relationship between Conscientiousness and PTSS showed to be prevalent, however this is not due to the mediation affect of coping. Furthermore, Neuroticism and Extraversion showed to predict coping style. Specifically, Neuroticism showed to affect EFC and DC and Extraversion showed to affect EFC. The descriptive statistics showed that this sample of police reservists is suffering from PTSD. Implications of these findings are discussed and directions for future research are explored.

Thesis (M.A.(Industrial Psychology)--University of the Witwatersrand, Arts Faculty, 1996 / At a primary level the current study sought to investigate the post-traumatic stress responses of a sample of black township residents who were victims and witnesses of continuous civil violence [Abbreviated abstract. Open document to view full version]

La thèse a pour objectifs d’étudier les liens entre les mécanismes de régulation émotionnelle (RE) et les psychotraumatismes de type I et II. Elle s’intéresse également aux indicateurs physiologiques caractérisant ces processus de RE et leurs éventuelles modifications dans les cas de Stress Post-Traumatique (SPT) ou d’exposition à des événements aversifs (trauma complexe). Pour cela nous avons mené trois études. La première étude s’intéresse à mettre en évidence des prédicteurs du développement d’un SPT complet ou subsyndromique, suite à un accident de la voie publique. Les résultats font apparaître que plus d’un quart des participants présente un subsyndrome traumatique ; pour 7,7% de patients avec un SPT complet. Parmi de nombreuses variables, le meilleur prédicteur est la perception d’une menace vitale. Des liens forts sont également observés entre d’une part, la détresse péritraumatique et les symptômes de reviviscence et d’hyperactivité neurovégétative, et d’autre part entre la dissociation traumatique et l’évitement. La seconde étude s’intéresse à évaluer la variabilité du rythme cardiaque (VRC) comme biomarqueur des difficultés de régulation émotionnelle (DRE) en population non-clinique. Les résultats montrent que le groupe qui a peu de DRE présente une diminution de la VRC durant une phase d’induction émotionnelle puis une augmentation jusqu’à un niveau statistiquement équivalent à sa ligne de base en phase de récupération post-induction. Cette réponse sympathoexcitatrice adaptative est modifiée dans le groupe avec beaucoup de DRE : la VRC n’augmente pas en récupération. Ces données suggèrent que la VRC est un biomarqueur pertinent des DRE. Enfin, la dernière étude cherche à évaluer l’impact d’un trauma complexe (TC) sur plusieurs processus émotionnels. Les DRE et la dissociation somatoforme discriminent le mieux les groupes d’adolescentes présentant un TC des adolescentes contrôles. De plus, les mesures physiologiques montrent que le niveau de VRC au repos est plus faible dans le groupe TC et que le pattern typique de réaction sympathoexcitatrice est absent, à la différence du groupe contrôle. Les analyses de régressions précisent que le manque de conscience émotionnelle prédit le niveau de VRC au repos alors que c’est le niveau de dépression qui prédit le mieux la diminution phasique de VRC. Ajoutée à un taux d’erreur plus important pour évaluer subjectivement les stimuli émotionnels dans le groupe TC, les événements aversifs répétés semblent perturber à la fois des processus liés à l’évaluation des signaux émotionnels et leur intensité, mais aussi les processus psychologiques et physiologiques liés à la régulation des émotions. Ces résultats qui confirment le rôle important des DRE dans les psychotraumatismes seront discutés par rapport à la littérature actuelle pour proposer des pistes thérapeutiques spécifiques. / This thesis aims to explore the links between emotion regulation (ER) mecanisms and type 1 and 2 psychotrauma. We also investigate physiological marker of those ER processes and the potential disturbances caused by Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and adverse life events (complex trauma). Three studies were carried out. The first study assesses some predictors of the development of a complete or subsyndromic PTSD following a motor vehicule accident. Results reveal that more than one quarter of the sample exhibits subsyndromic PTSD and 7.7% was diagnosed with complete PTSD. Among several variables, the strongest predictor is the perceived life threat. Also, strong correlations are observed between 1) peritraumatic distress and persistent re-experiencing or hyperarousal and 2) dissociation score and avoidance strategy. The second study evaluates Heart Rate Variability (HRV) as a potential biomarker of emotion regulation difficulties (ERD) in a non-clinical population. Results for the low ERD group show that HRV decreases from baseline to elicitation and then increases from elicitation to recovery (no difference between recovery and baseline levels). This adapatative sympato-excitatory pattern is altered in the high ERD group in which HRV do not increase from elicitation to recovery. Those data suggests that HRV could be an unbiased biomarker of ERD. The last study examines the effects of complex trauma (CT) on several emotional processes. ERD and somatoform dissociation best discrimate between CT and control teenagers. Moreover, physiological measures show that HRV level at rest is lower in CT than control and typical sympato-excitatory response is not observed in CT contrary to control group. Regressions analyses further reveal that the lack of emotional awareness predicts HRV level at baseline whereas the level of depression best predicts phasic HRV decrease. Added to greater errors in the subjective assessment of emotional stimuli in the CT group, adverse life events seem to disrupt processes involved in the labelling of emotions and intensity as well as psychological and physiological processes linked to ER. These results which confirm the importance of ERD in psychotrauma are discussed in regard to contemporary literature in order to suggest some specific therapeutic approaches.

Objetivo: Avaliar a eficácia da Terapia Cognitiva Processual na melhora de pacientes com Transtorno de Estresse Pós-traumático. Desenho do estudo - Estudo randomizado, com dois grupos paralelos. Intervenções - Dois modelos de Terapia Comportamental Cognitiva - Terapia Cognitiva Processual e Exposição (os pacientes receberam tratamento farmacológico). Duração e frequência: Após a avaliação inicial (semana 00), as sessões de psicoterapia tiveram frequência semanal, durante onze semanas, e quinzenais nas quatro últimas semanas, totalizando 13 (treze) sessões. As sessões de psicoterapia duraram 1 (uma) hora. Os pacientes foram reavaliados após três meses. Número de participantes: Amostra de conveniência envolvendo 86 pacientes; 42 no grupo de Exposição e 44 no grupo de Terapia Cognitiva Processual. Resultados e Conclusão: Os dois grupos melhoraram, porém melhoras nos sintomas de TEPT não foram estatisticamente significantes entre os grupos (p > 0,1), assim como para sintomas depressivos e ansiosos (p > 0,2). Estes resultados sugerem que a Terapia Cognitiva Processual é tão eficaz quanto a Terapia de Exposição padrão-ouro / Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of Trial-Based Cognitive Therapy in the improvement of patients with posttraumatic stress disorder. Study design - Randomized study with two parallel groups. Interventions - Two Models of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - Trial-Based Cognitive Therapy (TBCT) and Exposure (patients received pharmacological treatment). Duration and frequency: After the initial assessment (week 0), psychotherapy sessions were held weekly for eleven weeks and twice a week for four weeks, a total of thirteen (13) sessions. Psychotherapy sessions were one (1) hour long. Patients were reassessed after three months. Total Duration: 13 sessions of treatment and three months follow-up. Number of Participants: Convenience sample involveing 86 patients, 42 in the exposure group and 44 in the TrialBased Therapy group. Results and Conclusion: Both groups improved, but improvements in the symptoms of PTSD depression and anxiety were not statistically significant among the two treatment groups (p > 0.1; p > 0.2). These results suggest that Trial-Based Cognitive Therapy is as effective as the gold standard Exposure

Consolidated memories can become reactivated in order to permit the integration of new information into the memory trace. Blockade of the resultant process, reconsolidation, with NMDA receptor antagonists or protein synthesis inhibition can lead to a decrease in subsequent memory expression. This may offer a potential tool for the treatment of psychiatric disorders characterised by maladaptive memories, including drug addiction and post-traumatic disorder. Given the importance of instrumental associations in supporting drug addiction experiments in Chapters 3 & 4 aimed to disrupt reconsolidation of these memories. Treatment with an NMDA receptor antagonist prior to retrieval sessions of various durations was not able to consistently prevent reconsolidation of these associations. Drug addiction is characterised by memories that have been formed not over days or weeks, but months or years. Experiments in Chapters 5 & 6 therefore investigated how the extent of training affects the propensity of an appetitive pavlovian memory to reconsolidate. Experiments in Chapter 5 were not able disrupt reconsolidation of these memories after a relatively short period of training. In Chapter 6 attempts to disrupt reconsolidation of a cocaine-seeking memory having undergone extensive training (>1 month, designed to promote the formation of drug-seeking habits) were also unsuccessful. However, when animals were trained in a similar fashion to respond for a food reinforcer treatment with a NMDA receptor antagonist prior to a reactivation session resulted in a decrease in food-seeking behaviour the following day. However, this deficit was only found in the first test session; drug treatment had no effect on responding following reminder of the memory. If data from preclinical studies are to inform future psychiatric treatments the findings from these works must be robust and replicable. Experiments in previous chapters encountered several issues in this regard, namely the repeated inability to prevent reconsolidation with NMDA receptor antagonism. Given that reconsolidation of auditory fear memories is well characterised a final series of experiments in Chapter 7 used this procedure to explore the possible reasons for the fleeting or absent effects of disrupted memory reconsolidation in previous chapters. Despite the use of similar methods as published reports showing decreases in memory expression as a result of blockade of reconsolidation it was not possible to disrupt this process with NMDA receptor antagonism or protein synthesis inhibition. Results suggested that the failure to observe reactivation-dependent amnesia was due to the amnestic agent used not being able to prevent reconsolidation, should it be taking place, and a failure of the given retrieval trial to result in memory reactivation. On numerous occasions throughout this thesis it was not possible to disrupt memory reconsolidation. One difficulty in interpreting null data of this nature is that it is often unclear whether the results are due to insufficient retrieval conditions to result in memory reconsolidation, or an inability of the pharmacological agent to disrupt this process. The final experiments of this thesis raised the possibility both of these issues may have contributed in tandem towards this inability to prevent memory reconsolidation.

På många intensivvårdsavdelningar skrivs det dagbok för patienten. Dagboksskrivande på intensivvårdsavdelning är dokumentation av vårdtiden skrivet till patienten av sjuksköterskor och annan vårdpersonal och i vissa fall närstående. Intensivvårdsavdelningen är en tekniktät miljö som kan upplevas skrämmande och stressig för patienten, vård på intensivvårdsavdelning kan orsaka posttraumatisk stress syndrom efter vårdtiden. Forskning visar att dagboken tillsammans med uppföljningsverksamhet efter vårdtiden på intensivvårdsavdelningen kan minska risken för utveckling av post traumatisk stress syndrom. Syftet med studien var att beskriva innehållet i patientens dagbok från vårdtiden på intensivvårdsavdelningen. Den vetenskapliga ansatsen är kvalitativ där datainsamling har skett genom insamling av totalt sju patientdagböcker från fyra olika sjukhus i Sverige. Analysmetoden kvalitativ innehållsanalys användes. Resultatet presenteras i 16 underkategorier och fem kategorier. Resultatet visar att innehållet i dagboken handlar om orsak till patientens sjukdomstillstånd och behandling, förändringar i andningen, patientens kommunikation, hälsofrämjande aktiviteter och beskrivningar av omvärlden. Kategorierna har sammanförts till ett tema där dagbokens innehåll ses som en verklighetsbeskrivning genom dialog grundad på uppmuntran och hopp. / Program: Specialistsjuksköterskeutbildning med inriktning mot intensivvård

This study compared the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI) scores of traumatized youth with or without PTSD to the scores of a nonclinical comparison group. Diagnostic interviews identified children with PTSD (28), traumatized PTSD negatives (64), and a nonclinical comparison group (41). In the absence of major comorbid disorders, the CDI scores of children and adolescents with PTSD significantly exceeded the CDI scores of traumatized PTSD negatives and controls on the CDI Total, Negative Mood, Ineffectiveness, and Anehdonia scales. The PTSD group also had significantly higher scores than the traumatized PTSD negatives on the Negative Self Esteem scale. Furthermore, as hypothesized, the CDI scores of the traumatized PTSD negatives and controls were not significantly different on any of the six subscales measured. On the other hand, there were three unexpected nonsignificant findings. First, the PTSD group mean CDI Interpersonal Problems score did not significantly differ from the traumatized PTSD negative group. Second, the PTSD group mean CDI Interpersonal Problems score also did not significantly differ from the control group. Finally, the PTSD group mean CDI Negative Self Esteem score did not significantly differ from the control group. Overall, PTSD was associated with increased depression across the majority of the CDI scales and trauma exposure without PTSD was not. Implications for research and practice are considered.

The present study was conducted to help understand the impact of living with multiple sclerosis (MS), an unpredictable, chronic illness that is widely known to have a large influence on psychosocial functioning, mental health, and life satisfaction (Motl & Gosney, 2007; Weiner, 2004). Recent research has begun to position certain chronic illnesses, such as MS, as traumatic events that influence mental health in both beneficial and detrimental ways. Thus, the present study investigated the positive and negative consequences of centralizing one’s identity within their MS experiences as related to trauma, growth, and psychosocial influences via a path model with 616 individuals with MS. The results indicate strong support for the hypothesized paths between the variables of interest—centrality of MS, posttraumatic stress, posttraumatic growth, social support, personal mastery, depression, and life satisfaction. Specifically, results indicate that posttraumatic stress and posttraumatic growth partially mediated the relations between centrality of MS with depression and life satisfaction. Moderation analyses indicated that social support and personal mastery did not moderate any relations between centrality of MS with depression and life satisfaction. Rather, additional analyses suggest social support and personal mastery may be viewed as additional mediators between centrality and posttraumatic stress and posttraumatic growth. The results of the present study is the first known study to extend trauma literature to the population of MS in order to provide an approach to help understand the high rates of depression and inconsistent findings on quality of life for this population. Implications for practice, theory and research are discussed.