Citation

Putman KM, Townsend C, Lantz J, Roberts R, Gallegos A, Potts A, Eriksson CB, Foy DW. Traumatology 2009; 15(3): 40-47.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Green Cross Academy of Traumatology, Publisher APA Journals)

DOI

10.1177/1534765609332323

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This study explores exposure to community violence (CV) and traumatic loss and their relation to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and grief symptoms among Guatemalan aid workers. Out of 135 workers surveyed, 79% reported that someone close to them had died, and 33% reported a loss that was rated as traumatic. The average number of lifetime incidents of CV reported was 13, and the highest was 32. In all, 36% of the sample reported symptoms that meet criteria for PTSD.Those participants who reported a traumatic loss also reported significantly higher complicated grief (CG) scores, and those who reported a traumatic human-perpetrated loss also reported significantly higher levels of hyperarousal PTSD symptoms than those who reported a traumatic loss that was nonhuman perpetrated.