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Correlations between Psychosocial Factors and Psychological Trauma Symptoms among Rescue Personnel

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 July 2011

Yechiel Soffer ,
Jonathan Jacob Wolf  and
Menachem Ben-Ezra
Yechiel Soffer
Affiliation:
Home Front Command, Israeli Defense Forces
Jonathan Jacob Wolf
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Menachem Ben-Ezra*
Affiliation:
School of Social Work, Ariel University Center of Samaria, Ariel, Israel
*
Correspondence: Dr. Menachem Ben-Ezra School of Social WorkAriel University Center of Samaria, Ariel, Israel E-mail: menbe@ariel.ac.il
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Abstract

During large-scale, sudden-onset disasters, resscue personnel experience severe stress due to the brief window of opportunity for saving lives. Following the earthquake in Haiti, rescue personnel worked in Port-au-Prince under harsh conditions in order to save lives and extricate bodies. Reactions to this disaster among rescue personnel were examined using self-report questionnaires. Correlations between psychosocial factors and psychological trauma (dissociation and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms) were examined in a sample of 20 rescue personnel who worked in Haiti. The study indicated that negative affect and crisis of meaning were associated with higher levels of dissociative and PTSD symptoms. The results suggest that rescue personnel who are overwhelmed by the destruction and number of bodies being extricated may exhibit negative affect and loss of meaning along with dissociative and PTSD symptoms.

Keywords

Haitipost-traumatic stress disorderpsychological traumarescue personnel
Type
Original Research
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 26 , Issue 3 , June 2011 , pp. 166 - 169
Copyright
Copyright Soffer © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2011

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