Področja: Posameznik in Travma

TRAVMA IN POSAMEZNIK

PREVALENCA TRAVME

In a recent review of studies investigating civilian-related trauma and PTSD, Resnick, Falsetti, Kilpatrick, and Freedy (1995) reported that lifetime exposure to a variety of traumatic events is relatively common (40-70%), with prevalence rates of PTSD ranging from 18% to 28% for individuals exposed to some type of civilian trauma. In the largest study on the prevalence of traumatic events and PTSD conducted to date (The National Cormorbidity Survey), Kessler, Sonnega, Bromet, Hughes, and Nelson (1995) surveyed a representative U.S. sample of 8,098 individuals 15 to 54 years of age and found that 60% of men and 51% of women reported experiencing at least one traumatic event in their lifetime, with 8% of the sample estimated to have a lifetime diagnosis of PTSD.

Several studies have examined prevalence of traumatic events among college students. These studies report that exposure to traumatic events among college students also is relatively common. Vrana and Lauterbach (1994) found that 84% of college students reported experiencing at least one traumatic event during their lives, and over one third experienced four or more lifetime traumatic events. Green (1995) found a similarly high rate (>90%) of lifetime exposure to at least one traumatic event among members of a college sample. However, in both studies of college students, no attempts were made to examine rates of PTSD, and limited attempts were made to examine predictors of PTSD symptomatology.

The current study is the largest to date to examine the prevalence of lifetime traumatic events and PTSD symptoms in a college sample. These results indicate that having experienced one or more traumatic events is common among college students. Consistent with previous data (e.g., Green, 1995; Vrana & Lauterbach, 1994), approximately 67% of participants reported experiencing at least one traumatic event during their lifetime. Differential reporting rates in the experience of traumatic events were evident, with men more likely to have been in more serious accidents, to have been physically assaulted, and to have witnessed more serious injury or death. Women reported a greater proportion than men of adolescent and adult experiences of sexual coercion and sexual assault. These results are consistent with the findings of Norris (1992), who studied the prevalence of traumatic events among a community sample of adults. She found that women were more likely to have been sexually assaulted, but men were more likely to have been in motor vehicle crashes, to have been nonsexually physically assaulted, or to have experienced some violent event. In the present study, the high prevalence rates of childhood sexual abuse and adolescent and adult sexual assault, particularly among women, are consistent with previous research with college (e.g., Gidycz, Coble, Latham, & Layman, 1993) and community samples (e.g., Finkelhor, Hoatling, Lewis, & Smith, 1990; Kilpatrick & Resnick, 1993).

The finding that a significant proportion of individuals (12% of traumatized respondents; 4% of the full sample) met PTSD criteria within the past week is also important given that this is a college sample. Although it might be argued that this estimate overrepresents the true prevalence of PTSD diagnosis because of the use of self-report methodology, this rate is very similar to estimates obtained in large-scale epidemiological studies that have assessed PTSD diagnosis with structured clinical interviews. For example, Resnick, Kilpatrick, Dansky, Saunders, and Best (1993) studied a national probability sample of 4,008 women, using a comprehensive traumatic event inventory (similar to the one used in this study) and PTSD interview format. The researchers estimated that 7% of women with a history of any type of traumatic event (5% of the full sample) met criteria for current PTSD diagnosis.

In terms of exposure to violence, Jenkins (2001) found in a literature review of selected studies that between 26% and 70% of inner city children have been exposed to severe violence, such as witnessing a shooting.

Bryant-Davis, T. (2005). Coping Strategies of African American Adult Survivors of Childhood Violence. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 36(4), 409–414.

In a study conducted 52 years after the Dresden bombing, we explored pathogenetic and salutogenetic aspects of the psychological consequences of the bombing night trauma in a population now aged between 57 and 95. The assumption guiding the investigation was that, although a traumatic incident like the Dresden bombing has pathological long-term aftereffects, the processing of the traumatic experiences may also contribute to personal growth (cf. Antonovsky, 1987; Frankl, 1973). Whereas pathogenetic factors contribute to the symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), salutogenetic factors are associated with the successful processing of the trauma and a nonsymptomatic and/or a positive outcome in terms of personal growth.

Maercker, A. in Herrle, J. (2003). Long-Term Effects of the Dresden Bombing: Relationships to Control Beliefs, Religious Belief, and Personal Growth. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 16(6), 579-587.

Accidents, suicides, and homicides are the three leading

causes of death among young people in the United

States (U.S. Bureau of Census, 1999).

(The Prevalence of PTSD Following the Violent Death of a Child and Predictors of Change 5 Years Later, Shirley A. Murphy,1;3 L. Clark Johnson,1 Ick-Joong Chung,2 and Randal D. Beaton1

Journal of Traumatic Stress, Vol. 16, No. 1, February 2003, pp. 17–25 ( C ° 2003))

PREVALENCA TRAVME – RAZLIKE MED SPOLOMA

Gender is one potentially very powerful risk factor for victimization. In

general, men are more likely to be exposed towar combat, nonsexual assaults

between strangers, and to be victimized in public places (Craven, 1997; U.S.

Census Bureau, 2003), whereas women are more likely to be sexually

abused, injured by an intimate partner, and victimized in a private home (Craven,

1997; Finkelhor, 1994; Straus, 2001).

A recent community survey revealed a number of gender differences in

exposure to various kinds of trauma (Goldberg & Freyd, under review).

Women were much more likely to report having been emotionally or psychologically

mistreated by someone close as adults (approximately 40% compared

to less than 12% of men) and as children (approximately 30% compared

to less than 14%). Women also reported more sexual abuse in

adulthood and in childhood than did men. However, men were much more

likely to report having witnessed someone who they were not close to being

killed, committing suicide, or being injured, in adulthood and childhood.

Overall, women reported more events involving someone close to them, and

men reported more events that did not involve other people, and events

involving others who were not close to them.

These data suggest that victims of betrayal-related events are more likely

to be women than men, whereas victims of nonbetrayal events are more

likely to be men. Exposure to different types of trauma may be one form of

gender-based socialization that affects a range of psychological, social, and

physical health outcomes (DePrince & Freyd, 2002; Freyd, 1999).

Boys and girls reported anger as their primary reason for violence, however girls were more likely to report using violence as selfdefense, whereas boys reported using violence to exert control over their

dating partner.

DATING VIOLENCE AMONG ADOLESCENTS Prevalence, Gender Distribution, and Prevention Program Effectiveness

LAURA J. HICKMAN, LISA H. JAYCOX, RAND Corporation. JESSICA ARONOFF,

Break the Cycle

TRAUMA, VIOLENCE, & ABUSE, Vol. 5, No. 2, April 2004 123-142

More boys reported perpetrating sexual abuse than girls (37% and 24%, respectively) and

more girls reported perpetrating physical abuse than boys (28% and 11%, respectively).

DATING VIOLENCE AMONG ADOLESCENTS Prevalence, Gender Distribution, and Prevention Program Effectiveness

LAURA J. HICKMAN, LISA H. JAYCOX, RAND Corporation. JESSICA ARONOFF, Break the Cycle

TRAUMA, VIOLENCE, & ABUSE, Vol. 5, No. 2, April 2004 123-142

PREVALENCA TRAVME – SPOLNA ZLORABA IN POSILSTVO

Women in the CSA group experienced a first episode of abuse at a mean

age of 8.8 years (SD = 3.9); Table 2 describes ages and types of abuse. More

than one third of the women were victims of two or more perpetrators, and

58% were victims of incest at some point in their childhood. The majority of

women were first abused by an unrelated male, a category that includes people

who were familiar to the victim (e.g., mother’s boyfriend) and people

who were unfamiliar to the victim (e.g., a stranger). Most victims were 15 or

more years younger than their perpetrator. The duration of abuse was generally

either a single incident or more than 2 years, and nearly one half of the

women experienced penetration.

Gorey and Leslie (1997) reviewed surveys involving North American community samples and estimated that 15% of women and 7% of men had experienced contact sexual abuse when they were children. Rates in Europe, Latin America, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand appear comparable to those in North America (Fergusson, Lynskey, &Horwood, 1996a; Finkelhor, 1994).

More than one half of all respondents reported having been previously sexually assaulted (see Humphrey & White, 2000), with most victims being assaulted by people they knew, providing additional evidence to discount the stereotype of sexual assault being commonly committed by so called strangers (Crime Victims Research Treatment Center, 1992; Fieldhaus, Houry, &

Kaminsky, 2000).

Many women experience sexual assault at some time in their lives. Prevalence studies suggest that one third of women (32% to 34%) have experiencedchildhood sexual abuse (CSA; Vogeltanz et al., 1999; Wyatt, Loeb, Solis, Carmona, & Romero, 1999), whereas the prevalence of rape in adult women ranges from 14% to 25% (Koss, 1993). Humphrey and White (2000) found that 50% of college-bound women experience sexual assault prior to college, with 24% to 31% reporting sexual assault during each year of college. Women with victimization histories are at elevated risk of revictimization. Across several studies, 44% of survivors of CSA experienced adolescent or adult sexual assault (Breitenbecher, 2001). Merrill et al. (1999) found that survivors of CSA are 4.8 times as likely to experience adult victimization, and Humphrey and White (2000) found that women who experienced adolescent victimization were 14 times as likely to experience victimization during college.

The Rape Abuse and Incest National Network (1998) reported that one woman is raped every 2 minutes in the United States.

Estimates of the prevalence of child sexual abuse (CSA) in the general female population range from 15% to 33% (for review, see Kendall-Tackett, Williams, & Finkelhor, 1993). Approximately 20% of women are victims of rape each year (Russell, 1983; Wyatt, 1985), and it is estimated that between 25% (Straus & Gelles, 1990) and 50% (Stark & Flitcraft, 1988) of women are physically abused by their husbands.The Revictimization of Child Sexual Abuse Survivors: An Examination of the Adjustment of College Women With Child Sexual Abuse, Adult Sexual Assault, and Adult Physical Abuse , CHILD MALTREATMENT / FEBRUARY 2000)

Partner abuse against women is a serious public health problem in the United States. Approximately 4.4 million women are estimated to suffer from partner abuse each year (Misra, 2001).

Russell’s (1983, 1984) landmark study of community women in San Francisco

revealed that 24% of women had experienced a completed rape and

44% had experienced a completed or attempted rape. Koss and her colleagues

conducted a national random survey of college women and found

that 1 in 4 women had experienced rape or attempted rape in their lifetimes

and 84% of the women knew their attacker (Koss, Gidycz, & Wisniewski,

1987). Rape was not rare, and it was not primarily a stranger-in-the-bushes

phenomenon. Itwas a violent crime committed against millions ofwomen by

men they knewand trusted.

(REBECCA CAMPBELL, SHARON M. WASCO, Understanding Rapeand Sexual Assault, JOURNAL OF INTERPERSONALVIOLENCE, Vol. 20 No. 1, January 2005 127-131)

Over the past two decades, the study of CSAwithin the family

and its sequelae has been recognized as a significant issue for

many women. Estimates vary as to its prevalence, ranging from

about one third (31%) (Russell, 1983) (33%) (Wheeler & Walton,

1987) to 16% (Russell, 1983, 1984; Sedney & Brooks, 1984)

Duration. The average duration of the CSA for the mutilators

was almost double that of the nonmutilators. With a range of

duration from less than 1 year to 22 years, the mutilators’ CSA

began at the mean age of 6.06 years (SD = 3.91) and stopped at the

mean age of 13.33 years (SD = 5.87). For the nonmutilators, the

CSA started at the mean age of 7.64 years (SD = 4.30), and the

mean age when it ended was 11.66 (SD = 6.36). Duration ranged

from less than 1 year to 34 years. Duration of the CSAappeared to

differentiate between the two groups and was included as a

potential variable in the model-building phase of the analysis.

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) occurs in the lives of about 1 in 4 girls

(Finkelhor, Hotaling, Lewis,&Smith, 1990; Russell, 1983).

Thirteen percent of the 4,008 women surveyed in the National Women’s

Study (NationalVictimCenter and Crime Victims Research and Treatment

Center, 1992) reported having experienced at least one completed, forcible

rape in their lifetime. The investigators estimate that 638,000 American

women were raped in the year before the survey was conducted. Rape was

defined in the study’s preface as “an event that occurred without the

woman’s consent, involved the use of force or threat of force, and involved

sexual penetration of the victim’s vagina, mouth, or rectum.” Sexual assaults

that did not involve force, threat of force, or penetration were not included in

the prevalence and incidence estimates. (Women’s Responses to SexualViolence by Male Intimates

Claire Burke Draucker Phyllis Noerager SternWestern Journal of Nursing Research, 2000, 22(4), 385-406)