|
People who survive natural disasters or severe violence
are at high risk for suffering years of post-traumatic stress disorder.
In 1988, thousands of Armenians were devastated by a severe earthquake;
in that same year, political violence erupted against ethnic Armenians
in neighboring Azerbaijan. Both countries formed after the break-up of
the Soviet Union. In a study of 78 Armenians who experienced either of
these traumas, researchers found that both groups had similar, long-term
symptoms of post-traumatic stress.
First widely recognized in veterans of the Vietnam
War, post-traumatic stress disorder is now recognized to be a problem
in the larger population. Anyone who survives intensely traumatic circumstances
may show its signs and symptoms -- including withdrawal from others, flashbacks,
and feelings of helplessness.
The researchers looked at post-traumatic stress in
three groups of adults whom they had first studied 3 years earlier. In
one group, subjects had experienced minor earthquake damage, but were
exposed to "graphic depictions" of destruction in other parts
of the country. In another group, people had their lives directly threatened
by the earthquake and had witnessed the death and destruction it caused.
Subjects in the third group had experienced persecution in Azerbaijan,
suffering threats to their own lives and witnessing the torture or murder
of family or friends.
The investigators found that people in the two most
seriously traumatized groups had the same level of post-traumatic stress
symptoms. Moreover, time did nothing to abate symptoms in either group.
On the other hand, depression in these groups had faded. The group that
had experienced mild earthquake damage saw their post-traumatic stress
symptoms ease.
The persistence of post-traumatic stress in the other
two groups, the authors write, mirrors findings from studies of World
War II prisoners-of-war and Cambodian refugees. Armenians in this study
were surrounded by "pervasive trauma reminders" such as destroyed
buildings, "shoddy" homes, and media reports of violence in
Azerbaijan. In addition, the post-traumatic stress had spurred other emotionally
draining problems, such as difficulties at work and in marriage.
American Journal of Psychiatry
June 2000;157:911-916
| 