Publications by authors named "Josh Raitt"

Clinical trials demonstrated that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) can improve asthma control in patients with comorbid major depressive disorder (MDD) and that this effect may be greater than the effect of SSRIs on depression. These findings suggest that SSRIs may improve asthma control in patients without MDD. The current retrospective study examined the effect of SSRIs and serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRI) on asthma control in adult patients.

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Background: Excessive alcohol use and alcohol use disorders (AUDs) are serious medical problems in general populations. Alcohol use is associated with stressful events. Thus it is possible that problems with alcohol use increase in association with disasters.

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Survivors of disasters can be expected to form meaningful perspectives on their experiences that shape their trajectories of recovery; thus, these perspectives are important to study. If humans are naturally compelled to create meaning from traumatic experiences, the creation of meaning should be evident in survivors' discussion of the effects of the disaster in their lives. Therefore, the purpose of this study of highly trauma-exposed disaster survivors was to identify meaningful aspects or outcomes of their disaster experiences in their perspectives.

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This study compared perspectives of highly trauma-exposed Oklahoma City bombing survivors (N=141) with and without PTSD. Survivors' responses to questions about the effects of the bombing on their perspectives were hand-recorded and transcribed, six themes identified, and interrater reliability established. Both diagnostic groups (with and without PTSD) expressed greater appreciation for life, greater concern with human vulnerability and mortality, and positive changes in religion/spirituality as consequences of the bombing.

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Background: Dissociation is a serious psychological condition that is characterized as a pathological outcome of trauma-related experience. Thus, dissociation could be expected to develop in survivors of disaster trauma and to be associated with trauma exposure and psychopathology.

Methods: A sample of 278 disaster-affected Kenyans was assessed 8 to 10 months after the 1998 terrorist bombing of the US Embassy in Nairobi for a study of trauma-related psychopathology and dissociation in the context of personality and culture.

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Objective: Personality is associated with psychopathology after disasters, but its association with the portion of postdisaster psychopathology that is incident remains unclear. It is also unclear whether any particular attributes of personality are associated with resistance to the persistence or recurrence of preexisting psychopathology after disasters. This exploratory study of employees of workplaces affected by the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City examined the specific relationships of personality variables (specifically, novelty seeking, harm avoidance, reward dependence, persistence, self-directedness, cooperativeness, and self-transcendence) to incident postdisaster psychiatric disorders and resistance to the persistence/recurrence of preexisting psychiatric disorders after the disaster.

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Objective: Research is needed on disaster-affected workplaces, particularly on employee job satisfaction and performance, to inform workplace responses promoting employee postdisaster adjustment and wellbeing.

Methods: Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from a volunteer sample of 255 employees of eight workplaces affected by the 9/11 attacks on New York City's World Trade Center nearly 3 years post disaster.

Results: The effects of 9/11 on both job satisfaction and job performance were more negative than positive, especially for the Ground Zero employees.

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: The mental health effects of major terrorist attacks on diplomatic government personnel have not been well studied. This study examined the psychiatric and psychosocial effects of the 1998 terrorist bombing of the US Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, on US government personnel exposed to the bombing. : At 8-10 months after the bombing, 179 US government employees (53 Americans, 126 Kenyans, 53% male, age mean = 40.

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