European Psychologist
Volume 14, Issue 3, 2009, Pages 249-254

Is acknowledgment of trauma a protective factor?: The sample case of refugees from chechnya (Article)

Maercker A.* , Povilonyte M. , Lianova R. , Pöhlmann K.
  • a Department of Psychopathology and Clinical Intervention, University of Zurich, Binzmühlestr. 14/17, CH-8050 Zürich, Switzerland
  • b Department of Psychopathology and Clinical Intervention, University of Zurich, Binzmühlestr. 14/17, CH-8050 Zürich, Switzerland
  • c University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden, Germany
  • d University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden, Germany

Abstract

We assessed victims' status and its relation to self-perceived "social acknowledgment as a victim or survivor" (Maercker &Müller, 2004) in a sample of Chechen refugees living in camps in Ingushetia. A total of 61 Chechen refugees were surveyed using awar-related trauma checklist, the Impact of Event Scale-Revised, and the Disclosure of Trauma Questionnaire. Rates of potentially traumatic events and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) appeared to be very high in this sample: 100% reported one or more potentially traumatic events and over 75% were estimated to have PTSD. As expected, social acknowledgment as a victim or survivor was negatively related to PTSD symptoms. We discuss the possible causal direction of this finding. Our cross-sectional study provides further evidence that social acknowledgment should be regarded as a protective or resource factor in the aftermath of trauma. ©2009 Hogrefe & Huber Publishers.

Author Keywords

Mental health Protective factor Refugees posttraumatic stress disorder resources

Index Keywords

[No Keywords available]

Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-68349130219&doi=10.1027%2f1016-9040.14.3.249&partnerID=40&md5=30ec15402e6131dab5cc01bdfad383dc

DOI: 10.1027/1016-9040.14.3.249
ISSN: 10169040
Cited by: 24
Original Language: English