BACKGROUND: Understanding of the psychological impact of politically motivated violence is poor. AIMS: To examine the prevalence of post-traumatic symptoms subsequent to the 'troubles' in Northern Ireland. METHOD: A telephone survey of 3000 adults, representative of the population in Northern Ireland and the border counties of the Irish Republic, examined exposure to political violence, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and national identity. RESULTS: Ten per cent of respondents had symptoms suggestive of clinical PTSD. These people were most likely to come from low-income groups, rate national identity as relatively unimportant and have higher overall experience of the 'troubles'than other respondents. CONCLUSIONS: Direct experience of violence and poverty increase the risk of PTSD, whereas strong national identification appears to reduce this risk.
BACKGROUND: Understanding of the psychological impact of politically motivated violence is poor. AIMS: To examine the prevalence of post-traumatic symptoms subsequent to the 'troubles' in Northern Ireland. METHOD: A telephone survey of 3000 adults, representative of the population in Northern Ireland and the border counties of the Irish Republic, examined exposure to political violence, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and national identity. RESULTS: Ten per cent of respondents had symptoms suggestive of clinical PTSD. These people were most likely to come from low-income groups, rate national identity as relatively unimportant and have higher overall experience of the 'troubles'than other respondents. CONCLUSIONS: Direct experience of violence and poverty increase the risk of PTSD, whereas strong national identification appears to reduce this risk.
Authors: Edward M Cummings; Christine E Merrilees; Alice C Schermerhorn; Marcie C Goeke-Morey; Peter Shirlow; Ed Cairns Journal: Child Dev Date: 2012-02-07
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Authors: Christine E Merrilees; Ed Cairns; Marcie C Goeke-Morey; Alice C Schermerhorn; Peter Shirlow; E Mark Cummings Journal: J Community Psychol Date: 2011-01-01
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