There is a paucity of research into traumatic incidents concerning police workers (Hart et al. 1995). There are also few studies relating the prolonged and repetitive exposure to traumatic stressors, or 'sequential trauma' (Gersons and earlier 1990; 1992). Whilst it was acknowledged that organisational stress contributes to adaptive or maladaptive well being, dependent on transactional variables between the person and their environment, it was also argued that further along the stress continuum, there exists gross stress reactions similar to Post Traumatic stress Disorders (PTSD; DSM-IIIR; American Psychiatric Association 1989) and newly revised PTSD criterion (DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association 1994). However PTSD exclusively relates to a single event of overwhelming magnitude (Davidson and Foa 1991), whilst sequential trauma relates to mUltiple event exposure (Peters-Bean 1990b; 1996). It was argued that the magnitude of stimuli in trauma is not as important as the management of the trauma. Rather trauma is an artefact of person-environment transactions and the operation of 'traumatic signatures' which can be used adaptively or maladaptively in certain scenarios. Models of sequential trauma were proposed and tested. These notions are discussed in relation to three studies: an interview booklet survey (N=89); a Metropolitan Police Survey (N=134) and a Main U.K. Forces Survey (N=528) Results and implications for police workers and further research was discussed. It was found that trauma signatures may possibly assist in the processes involved with encountering trauma, primary and secondary appraisal mechanisms, coping post-event and physiological and psychological well-being with reference to individual and organisational outcomes.

Thesis (MSD (Play Therapy))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Stress research has recently gained attention in the importance of adapting to life stressors as well as to temporary stressors created in a laboratory. Much attention has recently been paid to the influence of individual differences in their contribution to performance and adaptation to stressful situations. The contribution of individual differences ranges from personality characteristics such as extraversion and introversion, optimism or pessimism and even in some cases, clinical diagnoses. On the other hand, coping with traumatic stress and its potential long-term implication sparks much controversy in various fields of psychology. Certain views predict higher resilience to stress with the ability to rise above the occasion and triumph in spite of stress while other theories indicate a decline in productivity and an inability to cope with stress. The goal of the present study was to empirically examine the effect of long-term traumatic exposure on adaptation to stress. This project was designed to detect trauma and traumatic symptomology in a nonclinical sample. This was done in order to determine the effect of traumatic stress in an operational context. The premise for the research involves the complex interplay of encoding traumatic memories. It involves main theories of the traumatic memory argument and the trauma equivalency argument which subsequently argue for varying levels of prevalence for traumatic occurrences. The main implications investigated include the functionality of traumatized individuals under the stress of sustained attention in the maximal adaptability model in stress and performance research. In order to conduct the investigation of trauma and human adaptability in performance, there were considered 3 main groupings for traumatized individuals in accordance to their range of stressful experiences. All participants were asked to perform a sustained attention task. Seventy-five participants in the age range of 18-41 enrolled in the study through the Sona System website for class participation in their respective psychology classes. The investigation used measures of demographics, the Dissociative Experiences Scale, the Traumatic Events Questionnaire, the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist, the Dundee Stress State Questionnaire, Conner's Continuous Performance Task II, and the NASA Task Load Index to assess traumatic stress, subjective distress and workload as well as to impose stress through sustained attention. Results indicated that significant differences in measures of impulsiveness in traumatized individuals suggest a heightened awareness and hypervigilance in their reactivity to performance measures. Meanwhile, interactions in performance and gender suggest differences attributed to biological influence to the stress reaction. Gender differences, when isolated by male and female groups showed differences in omission, the absence of a correctly hit target, and hit rate for females while males exhibited more impact on attentional capacity. The pertinence of these findings maintain significant differences in the subjects included in this sample. However, the limitations of the research propose design and measurement strategy differences to further explore trauma's full and versatile impact in stress performance. Implications for this research extend to military optimization and selection as well as training methods. The findings of the project contribute to clinical intervention and understanding of trauma while expanding the literature and knowledge in the field of psychology.

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit social workers are a particularly vulnerable group of professionals due to their chronic exposure to trauma. Current research has overlooked how social workers specifically can adopt certain strategies and coping mechanisms to prevent the symptoms associated with primary trauma, secondary trauma stress, compassion fatigue, and burnout. Thus, the study that follows was designed to explore the strategies and coping mechanisms utilized by NICU and PICU social workers. Data for this project was collected through the use of open-ended questions in an electronic survey format and analyzed through a conventional content analysis approach. Seven participants fully completed the survey and thus only their responses were considered in the analysis. Results of this study indicate the need for NICU and PICU social workers to gain additional education and training on primary trauma, secondary trauma stress, compassion fatigue and burnout so that they can actively participate in prevention. NICU and PICU social workers reported a range of strategies and coping mechanisms including the awareness of personal and professional barriers, consultation, exercise, among others. This study provides crucial information to an understudied area of research, provides a foundation for future research, and promotes the use of positive strategies and coping mechanisms by NICU and PICU social workers so that they can continue to provide the best services possible for the patients they serve.

Dissertation (PhD)--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.) - Carleton University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 68-82). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

本研究目的為探討國內新聞從業人員在採訪創傷新聞事件後，是否亦間接地受到創傷壓力所影響；又，社會支持與記者的創傷壓力調適有何關聯；而至今國內新聞界在記者創傷議題這部分的認知與作法處於何種階段。在研究方法上，採用質化的深度訪談法，訪談了包括文字記者、攝影記者以及主管職位等13位國內電視新聞從業人員。研究結果發現，普遍而言，國內電視新聞從業人員所承受身心壓力都較一般人來得高，而部分曾經採訪過重大創傷事件或創傷受害者的記者，更可能經歷深層的創傷壓力徵狀，包括侵入性回憶、逃避、高度警覺等。另外，部分受訪記者對創傷新聞事件的反應冷靜，可能源自記者良好的心理建設，但仍有記者是因為同儕壓力、尋求榮譽感或生計壓力等原因，而必須表現勇敢、甚至漠然，此亦可能為創傷壓力反應的一種。容易造成記者創傷壓力的新聞事件主要包括兩類，一為重大災難，一為看似平常、但可能對個別記者影響深刻的普通新聞事件；而易造成創傷壓力之新聞事件特性包括事件本身的嚴重度、記者深入了解新聞故事、與記者關係密切的人成為新聞主角、具情感張力的畫面。最後，個性、性別、路線、職位、電視台定位等變項可能影響記者是否容易面對創傷事件並受創傷壓力所影響。 接著，研究發現記者主要以「自我調適」與「尋求社會支持」兩種方式來應對可能承受的創傷壓力。在自我調適的部分，受訪記者以「娛樂」以及「重新定義生命或工作價值」的方式，來調整自己的狀態。在尋求社會支持的部分，首先，不若國外文獻對同儕支持的全面推崇，國內記者認為同儕支持主要能夠滿足資訊層面，但對同儕支持所提供的情緒支持仍有遲疑，可能與國內新聞圈的競爭激烈有關；第二，記者認為新聞組織能夠、也必須提供全面的物質支持與資訊支持，但由於現今不論是第一線記者或新聞主管，對記者創傷議題仍不熟悉，因此大部分受訪記者對組織是否能提供情緒支持採保留態度；第三，國內電視記者已不排斥尋求專業支持，但這方面的資訊相當缺乏；第四，雖然記者在擔心傷害家人的情況下，對家庭較不提及自身所承受的創傷壓力，但家庭仍提供了記者深層的情緒支持；第五，宗教支持為國內記者能夠舒服地吐露自身壓力的管道，提供了全然的情緒支持，此為國內新聞脈絡較特殊之處。 再者，國內新聞界雖已開始對記者創傷議題開始有初步的認知與作法，但整體的普及度與實行度仍不高。本研究在理解國內情況與參考國外各新聞組織的作法後，對國內新聞界在記者創傷議題可能能夠努力的方向，提出了若干建議。最後，亦在思考研究發現與研究限制後，對未來學術研究提出幾點建議。 / This study investigated trauma experiences of journalists in Taiwan after covering disaster, crime and justice news or interviewing traumatized victims, and how social support mechanism plays a buffering role in their trauma-stress coping. This thesis also explored news rooms’ attention and response toward this issue. This study adapted the semi-structured interview and the grounded theory methodology to analyze in-depth interview data of 13 TV journalists inTaiwan, including script journalists, photojournalists, local journalists and managers. This study found that the interviewed journalists live under physical and mental pressure. Some of those who have covered traumatic news experienced traumatic symptoms, including intrusion, avoidance, and hyperarousal. Although some journalists keep calm when they confront traumatic stress events, we still couldn’t overlook the potential traumatic effect since journalists may suppress their authentic feelings because of peer pressure, sense of honor, or bread and butter. In addition, the interviewed journalists employed “self-adjustment” and “seeking social support” to deal with the traumatic stress. First, the journalists relieved their pressure by means of entertainment, and redefining the value of job and the priorities of life. As for social support, the journalists thought that peer support could satisfy the need of information, but may not necessarily offer fully emotional support because of the flaming competitions between journalists and news organizations. As for news rooms, the journalists asked for tangible support, namely resources and informational support, but were suspicious of the emotional support. Then, this study found that the journalists are willing to seek professional support, but seldom seek support from family because of the worry of horrifying their family members. However, it does not mean that the emotional support from family is not important, and being there is the best support for journalists. Finally, religion support is the main channel from which the journalists could feel safe, peace and calm, which is a unique phenomenon in the Taiwan media settings. In the end, after understanding the Taiwan media situations and consulting the practices of foreign news organizations, this study recommended some suggestions and implications for future studies and news rooms accordingly.