In a recent issue of European Psychologist, the role of victims’ status and its relation to self-perceived “social acknowledgment as a victim or survivor” were examined in a sample of Chechen refugees living in camps in Ingushetia. Social acknowledgement is defined as the victim’s experience of positive reactions from society that show appreciation for the victim’s unique state and acknowledge the victim’s current difficult situation. A total of 61 Chechen refugees were surveyed using a war-related trauma checklist, the Impact of Event Scale-Revised, and the Disclosure of Trauma Questionnaire. Rates of potentially traumatic events and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) appeared to be very high in this sample: 100% reported one or more potentially traumatic events and over 75% were estimated to have PTSD. As expected, public acknowledgment as a victim or survivor was negatively related to PTSD symptoms. The authors discuss the possible causal direction of this finding and the need to regard social acknowledgment as a protective factor in the aftermath of trauma.
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Posted by: Therapy4help | March 06, 2010 at 09:52 PM
A traumatic experience impacts a person. If the trauma was ongoing, the effects are usually more severe; but even one experience can create immeasurable damage.
Posted by: Aiping Wang | July 31, 2010 at 07:57 AM