Loss of loved ones or home due to a disaster: Effects over time on distress in immigrant ethnic minorities.

Exposure to mass trauma may bring about increased sensitivity to new or ongoing stressors. It is unclear whether sensitivity to stress associated with ethnic minority/immigrant status may be affected by severe exposure to mass trauma. We examined whether the loss of loved ones or home due to a disaster is associated with more persistent disaster-related distress in ethnic minorities compared with Dutch natives in the Netherlands.

Acculturation and post-disaster mental health problems among affected and non-affected immigrants: a comparative study.

Background: It is unknown to what extent acculturation among disaster-affected immigrants is associated with mental health problems (MHP) compared to non-affected immigrants.

Methods: We examined the associations between acculturation and post-disaster MHP among affected and non-affected immigrants in The Netherlands.

Results: Among the affected group, keeping norms and values of original culture and limited skills to cope with the demands of the new society were independently associated with PTSD-symptomatology, anxiety, depression, hostility, and somatic problems at 18 months post-event.

Lack of perceived social support among immigrants after a disaster: comparative study.

Background: Disaster research suggests that immigrant groups who are affected by a disaster receive less emotional support than their native counterparts. However, it is unclear to what extent these differences can be attributed to post-disaster mental health problems or whether they were present before the event.

Aims: To examine the association between lack of social support, immigration status and victim status, as well as differences in support between immigrants and Dutch natives with disaster-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The correspondence between persistent self-reported post-traumatic problems and general practitioners' reports after a major disaster.

Background: Little is known about the correspondence between persistent self-reported disaster-related psychological problems and these problems reported by general practitioners (GPs). The aim of this study is to analyse this correspondence and to identify the factors associated with GPs' detection of persistent psychological problems.

Method: This study was conducted in a sample of 879 adult disaster-affected victims, taken from two longitudinal sources: the Enschede Firework Disaster Study and the GP-Monitor Study.

The independent predictive value of peritraumatic dissociation for postdisaster intrusions, avoidance reactions, and PTSD symptom severity: a 4-year prospective study.

This 4-year prospective study (N=662) of victims of a fireworks disaster examines the independent predictive value of peritraumatic dissociation for self-reported intrusions, avoidance reactions, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity at both 18-months (T2) and almost 4-years postdisaster (T3). Peritraumatic dissociation was measured 2-3 weeks after the disaster (T1). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that peritraumatic dissociation was not a strong independent predictor for intrusions and avoidance reactions and PTSD symptom severity at T2 or at T3 above initial intrusions, avoidance reactions, and psychological distress (T1).

Post-disaster mental health problems and the utilization of mental health services: a four-year longitudinal comparative study.

This study examined mental health problems and mental health services (MHS) utilization after a fireworks disaster among adult survivors and a comparison group. The disaster took place on May 13, 2000, in the city of Enschede, The Netherlands. Victims (N=662) participated in a survey 2-3 weeks (T1), 18 months (T2) and 4 years (T3) post-disaster.

Tobacco usage interacts with postdisaster psychopathology on circadian salivary cortisol.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) have been associated with increased rates of tobacco usage as well as with dysregulations of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. At the same time tobacco also affects the HPA axis. This paper examines the relationships between PTSD, posttraumatic MDD, smoking and levels of circadian cortisol 2-3 years postdisaster.

Disaster-related posttraumatic stress symptoms and sustained attention: evaluation of depressive symptomatology and sleep disturbances as mediators.

Research about attentional functioning following trauma has almost exclusively been performed in patient populations with combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In this study the relationship between sustained attention and PTSD symptoms was examined in a community sample of survivors of a major disaster using the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (PASAT) and the Self-Rating Scale for PTSD (SRS-PTSD) 2-3 years postdisaster. Analyses revealed low but significant partial correlations between PTSD symptoms and the least difficult subtests, ruling out the effects of age, education, depressive symptomatology, and sleep disturbances.