Delayed post-traumatic stress and memory inflation of life-threatening events following a natural disaster: prospective study.

Background: The causes of delayed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are debated, and the validity of late-onset PTSD has been questioned.

Aims: We aimed to examine predictors of delayed PTSD in a community sample of survivors of a natural disaster.

Method: Norwegian survivors of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami (n = 532) responded to a questionnaire at 6 and 24 months post-disaster.

Psychosocial intervention models and outcomes after a terror disaster.

On July 22, 2011, a car bomb blast in the government quarter in Oslo killed 8, injured 209 of the 350 employees who were at work, and destroyed 1700 of the 3500 work places in the ministries. Shortly afterward, the terrorist killed 69 adolescents and young adults and injured another 110 of the 495 survivors at a summer camp on an island outside Oslo, organized by the Youth League of the ruling Labor Party. The paper describes the two disaster models that were applied in providing the preventive and therapeutic psychosocial interventions: the company/organization model for the governmental employees and a combined community and organization model for the victims of the massacre and their families.

The Relationship Between Perceived Social Support and PTSD Symptoms After Exposure to Physical Assault: An 8 Years Longitudinal Study.

Consequences of nondomestic violence are known to be multifaceted with high rates of emotional and psychological problems in addition to physical injuries, and victims report many trauma related symptoms. This study explore if perceived social support (PSS) (Social Provisions Scale [SPS]) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms (Impact of Event Scale [IES-22]) are interrelated among adult victims at four assessment points up until eight years after the exposure to physical assault; soon after the event (T1), three months after T1 (T2), one year after T1 (T3), and eight years after T1 (T4). One hundred and forty-three subjects participated at T1, 94 at T2, 73 at T3, and 47 accepted a follow-up at T4.

The trajectory of symptom burden in exposed and unexposed survivors of a major avalanche disaster: a 30 year long-term follow-up study.

Background: Limited research exists concerning the long-term effects of avalanches on survivors' mental health beyond the first years after the accident. The aims of this study were to describe and evaluate possible differences in long-term mental health symptoms after a major avalanche disaster between exposed and unexposed soldiers using a longitudinal design.

Method: Present mental health symptoms were examined among avalanche exposed (n = 12) and unexposed (n = 9) soldiers by PTSS-10, IES-15 and STAI-12 in four waves (1986-1987 and 2016).

Sleep quality problems three decades post-disaster.

Study Objectives: Sleep quality problems are a core feature of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The aims of this study were to describe and evaluate possible differences regarding sleep quality problems and hyperarousal symptoms between exposed and unexposed survivors after an avalanche. Further, we wanted to describe any association between avalanche exposure and survivors' self-reported sleep quality problems and posttraumatic stress (disorder) symptoms with and without hyperarousal symptoms.

Optimizing Visits to the Site of Death for Bereaved Families After Disasters and Terrorist Events.

In recent years it has been common after disasters and terrorist events to offer bereaved families the opportunity to visit the place where their loved ones died. Many report that such visits are beneficial in processing their loss. Various factors, both cognitive (eg, counteracting disbelief) and existential or emotional (eg, achieving a sense of closeness to the deceased), are associated with the experienced benefit.

Prevalence of psychiatric disorders and functional impairment after loss of a family member: a longitudinal study after the 2004 Tsunami.

Background: Bereavement following disasters is a devastating experience for family members. The aim of this study was to examine the long-term mental health effects of losing a loved one in a natural disaster.

Methods: Ninety-four Norwegians aged 18-80 years who lost close family members in the 2004 Southeast Asian tsunami were evaluated 2 and 6 years after the disaster.

Posttraumatic stress and symptom improvement in Norwegian tourists exposed to the 2004 tsunami--a longitudinal study.

Background: Mental health consequences of disasters are frequently studied. However, few studies have investigated symptom improvement in victims after natural disasters. This study aimed to identify predictors of 6 months post-disaster stress symptoms and to study 6 months and 24 months course of symptoms among Norwegian tourists who experienced the 2004 tsunami.

Work-related post-traumatic stress disorder.

Background: Work-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an important condition encountered by many occupational health practitioners.

Aims: To carry out an in-depth review of the research on occupational groups that are at particular risk of developing work-related PTSD.

Methods: A literature search was conducted in the databases OVID MEDLINE, OVID Embase, Ovid PsycINFO, ISI Web of Science and CSA Health and Safety Science Abstracts.

Prevalence, comorbidity and stability of post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety and depression symptoms after exposure to physical assault: an 8-year prospective longitudinal study.

Background: There is a lack of prospective longitudinal studies focusing specifically on the victims exposed to physical violence by a perpetrator other than a family member.

Aims: To assess the prevalence and comorbidity of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety and depression symptoms and the stability of symptoms, in a population of victims of non-domestic physical violence through 8 years.

Method: This study had a single group longitudinal design with four repeated measures-the first as soon as possible after the exposure (n = 143 at T1), the second 3 months later (n = 94 at T2), the third after 1 year (n = 73 at T3) and the fourth after 8 years (n = 47 at T4).

Visiting the site of death: experiences of the bereaved after the 2004 Southeast Asian Tsunami.

The authors examined how many bereaved relatives of Norwegian tourists who perished in the 2004 Southeast Asian Tsunami had visited the site of death and the most important outcome from the visit. We conducted in-depth interviews (n = 110) and used self-report questionnaires (Impact of Event Scale-Revised, Inventory of Complicated Grief and General Health Questionnaire) in a total of 130 first-degree family members 2 years post-disaster. Results showed that the majority of participants (n = 113; 87%) had visited the site of death.

Parental mental health after the accidental death of a son during military service: 23-year follow-up study.

We prospectively studied parental mental health after suddenly losing a son in a military training accident. Parents (N = 32) were interviewed at 1, 2 and 23 years after the death of their son. The General Health Questionnaire and Expanded Texas Inventory of Grief were self-reported at 1, 2, 5, and 23 years; the Inventory of Complicated Grief was self-reported at 23 years.

Disaster survivors in their third decade: trajectories of initial stress responses and long-term course of mental health.

This study analyzed trajectories of initial stress and long-term mental health after the 1980 North Sea oil rig disaster. A growth-mixture model of the survivors' stress manifestations in the first 8 weeks (Posttraumatic Stress Scale, [PTSS-10]) and general mental health in 1980, 1981, 1985, and 2007 (General Health Questionnaire, [GHQ-20]) was estimated. Survivors' GHQ-scores in 1985 and 2007 were contrasted to those of a comparison group.

Use of and satisfaction with support received among survivors from three Scandinavian countries after the 2004 Southeast Asian tsunami.

Introduction: There is limited guidance regarding effective preventions for post-disaster mental health problems and what kind of support is preferred by disaster survivors.

Aim: To describe the use of and satisfaction with support in three Scandinavian countries after the tsunami and analyzing the association between support and posttraumatic stress reactions.

Method: The sample comprises 6772 responders who returned to Scandinavia from the tsunami-struck countries of Southeast Asia in 2004.

Changes in religious beliefs and the relation of religiosity to posttraumatic stress and life satisfaction after a natural disaster.

Objective: To study changes in religious beliefs and predictors of such changes in a community sample exposed to a natural disaster, and to investigate whether religiosity was linked to post-disaster mental distress or life satisfaction.

Methods: An adult population of 1,180 Norwegian tourists who experienced the 2004 tsunami was surveyed by a postal questionnaire 2 years after the disaster. Data included religiosity, disaster exposure, general psychopathology, posttraumatic stress and life satisfaction.

Posttraumatic stress symptom clusters associations with psychopathology and functional impairment.

We examined posttraumatic stress symptom clusters associations with psychopathology and functional impairment in 899 Norwegian survivors of the 2004 South-East Asia tsunami six months post-disaster. Posttraumatic stress symptoms were assessed with the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) with intrusion, avoidance, and hyper-arousal subscales. For criterion variables, we used 10 indicators of psychopathology and functional impairment, e.

Psychiatric disorders and functional impairment among disaster victims after exposure to a natural disaster: a population based study.

Objective: We aimed to examine psychiatric morbidity and functional impairment after a natural disaster.

Method: Norwegian tourists who survived the 2004 tsunami in Khao Lak (n = 63), a severely affected area in Thailand, were interviewed in person 2.5 years after the disaster.

Tsunami-affected Scandinavian tourists: disaster exposure and post-traumatic stress symptoms.

Background: Studies of short- and long-term mental effects of natural disasters have reported a high prevalence of post-traumatic stress. Less is known about disaster-exposed tourists repatriated to stable societies.

Aims: To examine the association between exposure to the 2004 Southeast Asian tsunami and symptoms of post-traumatic stress in three Scandinavian tourist populations.

Initial stress responses in relation to outcome after three decades.

The present study aimed at predicting posttraumatic stress 5 and 27 years after the North Sea oil rig disaster. The predictions were based on the initial levels of stress responses and the early recovery as reported in 1980. The Posttraumatic Stress Scale (PTSS) was used at 3 measure points.

Predictors of complicated grief after a natural disaster: a population study two years after the 2004 South-East Asian tsunami.

The authors examined predictors of complicated grief (CG) in Norwegians 2 years after bereavement in the 2004 South-East Asian tsunami. A cross-sectional postal survey retrospectively covering disaster experiences and assessing CG according to the Inventory of Complicated Grief yielded 130 respondents (35 directly disaster-exposed and 95 not directly exposed), with 47.7% screening CG positive.