Thesis (D. Min.)--Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2007. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 237-241)

Thesis (Psy. D.)--Wheaton College, 2007. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 40-47).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2000. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 133-143). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Denver Seminary, 2008. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 78-84).

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 1999. Graduate Programme in Psychology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-91). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pMQ56171

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2003. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 132 p. Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 97-107).

published_or_final_version / Mental Health / Master / Master of Social Sciences

PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) has impacted veterans of combat throughout history. With current advances in protective combat armor and in combat medical treatment, more and more of the soldiers who would have perished in the battlefield are being saved and returned home. While their physical wounds may heal, the traumatic events experienced on the battlefield continue to impact their personal, social, and vocational lives. This study explores the perceptions of veterans with respect to their vocational stability and the impact that PTSD has had on their vocational functioning. Eleven veterans were selected to participate in this qualitative study. These veterans were all veterans of combat actions ranging from the Vietnam War to the current military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Once selected, these veterans participated in interviews which explored their vocational history, their perceptions of their employment instability, and their perceptions of the impact that PTSD had on their vocational functioning and employment instability. Once the interviews were completed, they were transcribed and analyzed using open coding to identify common themes throughout the data. These themes included behavioral issues, perception of treatment, and their military experiences. Each theme was explored and interpreted to identify how PTSD impacted these participants in maintaining employment instability. Interpretations of the data lead to the conclusion that combat-related PTSD does, as the literature identifies, cause vocational instability. However, the data shows that while the participants did experience vocational instability, it was not because they were typically fired or dismissed from employment, but rather, they quit jobs prior to being fired. The participants were able to identify their triggers and stressors to the point that they simply quit their jobs when these triggers and stressors arose. Thus, much of their vocational instability may possibly have been prevented had they been able to effectively communicate their stressors and triggers to their employers and co-workers. Limitations of the study as well as implications for practice and future research are discussed. / text

Correctional services are viewed as a high-risk profession, given the exposure to violence and other stressors that characterises the work. These factors contribute to occupational stress and the possible development of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among correctional officers. There is an abundance of intemational literature on the development of PTSD in various populations, but almost no literature that examines the prevalence of PTSD amongst correctional officers in other countries as well as in South Africa. This study is aimed at exploring occupational stress, PTSD and coping strategies in South African correctional officers, using demographic data, the Impact of Events Scale-Revised, the Occupational Stress Indicator and the Coping Resources Inventory. Results, as measured by the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), revealed that correctional officers who worked directly with prisoners, and were therefore exposed to violence, experienced PTSD symptoms. Coping style findings (Coping Resources Inventory) showed that unmarried officers tended to use avoidance coping strategies to deal with occupational stress, whereas married officers tended to use approach coping strategies. It seems that marriage is a protective factor or buffer against stress. Surprisingly, results of the Occupational Stress Inventory did not reveal high levels of stress overall amongst correctional officers. Higher occupational stress was found amongst officers who had been in the correctional services for more than six years. The implications of the above findings indicate that correctional officers, who suffer from PTSD and occupational stress, must be identified and treated. The study further hopes that the findings and associated recommendations made can inform prevention and intervention programmes in the correctional services. Prevention and intervention programmes should impact at the level of the individual and the organisation through programmes such as stress management, stress inoculation and critical incident stress debriefing as well as, structural administrative and environmental change programmes within the correctional services. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2001.