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Unaccompanied refugee minors (URMs) are known to be subjected to several potentially traumatic life events, risking more mental health problems than other populations of same age. Evidence concerning the mental health of Eritrean URMs in Ethiopia is scarce. This paper aims to present an estimate of probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) within this group and describes its associations with traumatic life events and participants’ characteristics.

This cross-sectional quantitative study surveyed a random sample of 384 Eritrean URMs, aged 12–17 years, in the Shimelba refugee camp. The Stressful Life Events (SLE) questionnaire and the Reactions of Adolescents to Traumatic Stress (RATS) questionnaire were used to assess traumatic events and PTSD symptoms, respectively. Descriptive statistics, the chi-square test with the odds-ratio and stepwise regression were used to analyze data.

Large proportions of the URMs had experienced traumatic events including physical abuse (261, 68%), separation from family against will (240, 62.5%), a stressful life event in which they were in danger (198, 51.6%), and important changes in family life (196, 51%). About 38% of the URMs met the criteria for classifying probable PTSD diagnosis, suggesting that they are likely to have PTSD. The odds-ratio statistic revealed that girls and the oldest age group (15–17 years) were at a greater risk for PTSD. The total score on the SLE appeared to be the robust predictor, explaining 28% of the variance in RATS total scores.

Self-report questionnaires used in this study yield less diagnostic information than extensive interviews. Additional information should be collected from the viewpoint of significant adults (caregivers/ teachers). Such information would be crucial in assessing the degree of impairment in daily functioning and the severity of the symptoms.

Awareness of the stressful experiences and the mental health status of the URMs has implications for taking preventive and curative measures to provide a broad range of intervention programs and psychosocial support.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects both civilian and military populations following wartime experiences. However, despite an abundance of research investigating civilian and military populations separately, much less focus has been given to synthesizing and integrating findings to describe how civilian and military war survivors are comparatively affected by PTSD. This review is broken down into three sections covering (1) risk factors associated with PTSD, (2) relationships between PTSD and mental health outcomes, and (3) protective factors that can attenuate PTSD and its effects. Each section covers findings for civilians and military personnel and highlights similarities and differences between groups.

Women comprise a significant and growing proportion of the law enforcement population. Despite this, their potentially unique reactions to job-related posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and depression have been underrepresented in the relevant literature, particularly within the context of exposure to community violence. Also understudied is the role of empathy in the development of post-trauma reactions, which has been a risk factor for the development of posttraumatic distress in previous studies. With the recent endorsement of empathy training by the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, it is important to examine ways in which empathy may contribute to differences in PTSS and depression for male and female officers. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Male and female police officers (n=189) exposed to violence during the 2014 Ferguson protests completed a battery of measures designed to assess demographic information, prior trauma history, and mental health outcomes.

Moderation analyses showed that empathy moderated the relationships between exposure and PTSS and exposure and depression in female officers, such that exposure was associated with higher posttraumatic stress and depressive symptoms only for female officers with high levels of empathy. These relationships were not found for men.

This study is the first to examine sex differences and the role of empathy in the mental health effects of law enforcement secondary to violence during community protests against policing.

After decades of focus on disaster, crisis, and trauma itself, in recent years more attention has been devoted to the study of human strengths and resilience, as reflected in the rise of positive psychology and strengths-based social work. In particular, psychological growth after trauma has been increasingly studied, and one of the official terms referring to the phenomenon is posttraumatic growth (PTG). The PTG literature reflects work on positive psychology, trauma recovery, and resilience. The main components associated with PTG are new possibilities, interpersonal growth, personal growth, appreciation for life, and spiritual change (Calhoun & Tedeschi, 2014). These domains have been tested and measured with a scale, the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory. While PTG and related concepts such as resilience have been studied in various populations, they have not yet been investigated extensively in Southeast Asia (SEA) populations. This chapter explores the psychological examination of resilience and PTG in the SEA context, with some discussion of the background of both positive psychological concepts and PTG research cross-culturally, and their application to the SEA region specifically. Brief relevant trauma history of the region, such as human-made and natural hazards impacting the region’s individuals and communities, and similarities and differences in the results of these traumas will be described. Implications for broader international work as well as cultural and clinical implications also will be discussed in this chapter.

The purpose of the study was to assess the relationship between child sexual abuse (CSA) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in female inmates in China. A total of 471 participants were assessed for CSA, personality traits, coping strategies, and frequency of lifetime PTSD. Results demonstrated that CSA and negative coping were predictive factors for lifetime PTSD among female inmates after personality traits were controlled. The findings suggest that CSA is one potential factor contributing to lifetime PTSD among female inmates. The importance of screening for CSA among female inmates was highly emphasized. Early intervention and prevention programmes based on coping skills may be useful to forestall the development of chronic PTSD in female inmates.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the moderating role of psychopathy facets on the relationship between traumatic exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomology.

Participants were male prisoners incarcerated in the UK.

The analysis revealed differential associations between the two facets of psychopathy, with potentially traumatic events and symptoms of PTSD. Specifically, neither primary psychopathy nor trauma exposure were significantly related to PTSD, while secondary psychopathy was positively and significantly related with PTSD symptoms. Furthermore, the effect of trauma exposure on PTSD was found to depend on the level of secondary psychopathy. More specifically, trauma exposure was strongly and positively associated with PTSD symptoms for low levels of secondary psychopathy and negatively associated with PTSD symptomology for individuals with high levels of secondary psychopathy.

The findings clarify linkages among psychopathy facets, trauma, and PTSD, and extend the understanding of the presentation of PTSD in male prisoners.

This chapter summarizes the literature on mindfulness and its impact of postdisaster response. Although the use of mindfulness is still in its infancy in Southeast Asia (SEA), initial studies suggest it has potential as a means to address survivors’ posttrauma symptoms. Given cultural nuances such as a discomfort in emotional expression and shame, mindfulness is non-intrusive and encourages non-judgmental acceptance. Mindfulness has been used in group settings which is congruent with the region’s collectivist orientation. In addition, given the importance of spirituality, we suggest that mindfulness may be an inclusive approach that is familiar and acceptable to SEA survivors.

The purpose of this study is (1) to confirm the relationship between the two dimensions of social desirability (pretending and denying), self-reported stress and health reports in police officers and (2) to assess whether dysfunctions in basal cortisol profiles are related to social desirability.

Social desirability is known to influence how individuals respond to sensitive topics, such as questions concerning health in the workplace, and has usually been defined according to two dimensions: pretending and denying. However, it is not known whether social desirability is only a bias in responding to health surveys or a more general attitude of denying problems and pretending to be stronger than one is in the everyday life. If the latter is true, social desirability may have important health implications, and underlying mechanisms must be described. In total, 77 police officers completed questionnaires measuring social desirability (denying and pretending), perceived stress as well as mental and somatic health symptoms. They were further instructed to collect saliva samples for cortisol concentrations assays.

These preliminary results showed that denying was negatively related to the report of stress and health symptoms. Furthermore, police officers higher in pretending showed a flatter diurnal cortisol slope.

The correlation between dysregulation of the hypothalmic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, as expressed by a flatter cortisol slope, and a higher score in the pretending subscale suggests that looking for social approval by inflating one's capacities is related to chronic work-related stress, making the individual more vulnerable to stress-related disease.

To study the potential health-relevant consequences and underlying mechanisms of social desirability bias related to police culture by including stress biomarkers.

Given the amount of research examining the association between trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with aggression and violence, few studies have focussed on a UK prison population. Additionally, few have examined the relationship between PTSD symptoms, aggression and violence perpetrated in custody. The purpose of this paper is to explore the association between PTSD and violence against the person in prison, and the association between PTSD and having a conviction for violence against the person.

The sample consisted of 110 participants from a male prison in England (young offenders and adult prisoners). They were assessed for PTSD symptoms using the Detailed Assessment of Posttraumatic Stress (DAPS; Briere, 2001), their criminal history and custodial behaviour was analysed.

The findings revealed that symptoms of PTSD were significantly associated with violence in prison, however, symptoms of PTSD were not found to be significantly associated with having a violent conviction. Further analysis using logistic regression found having a violent conviction, age and PTSD symptoms were significant predictors of violence in prison.

The limitations of this study are the reliance on a self-report measure to assess symptoms of PTSD, the small sample size and the absence of a control group.

The results highlighted the need for staff training and the availability of a service to assess and treat PTSD. This would increase the well-being of offenders and support the current HM Prison Service violence reduction strategies.

This study provides new research into the UK prison population.

The purpose of this study is to explore the empirical literature on the resilience of firefighters related to potentially traumatic events (PTE). This paper identifies how resilience is defined in this particular research field, reveals trends in applied research methods and examines the main topics addressed in previous research.

Web of Science, PsycARTICLES and Google Scholar databases were searched, as well as a secondary manual screening of the reference lists of all the selected studies and Dutch academic journals. Based on this review, 54 empirical articles were included in the current paper.

Firstly, this paper revealed that there is no consensus in how to define the concept of resilience in this specific research area. A second observation was that most of the selected studies used a quantitative, cross-sectional research design. Finally, the 54 empirical studies provided insights on six topics: the role of the organization, demographic factors, personal characteristics, coping strategies, social support and the reactions of firefighters in the aftermath of PTE. Comparing the empirical results was challenged by the different interpretations and denominations of the concept of resilience and the myriad of measurement techniques applied across the selected articles.

This literature review discovered some promising avenues for future research regarding resilience of firefighters. Moreover, it demonstrated that studying resilience is particularly interesting as the identification of supporting factors leads to a better understanding of how to enhance the well-being, job satisfaction and job performance of firefighters.