NCJ Number
222279
Journal
Trauma, Violence, & Abuse Volume: 9 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2008 Pages: 100-113
Date Published
April 2008
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Cognitive-behavioral theories (CBTs) describe etiological factors in trauma, guide research that has identified risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and assist in developing interventions that can reduce posttrauma symptoms.
Abstract
Individuals whose occupations place them at risk for exposure to potentially traumatic events that involve physical injury, death, and/or witnessing harm to others often report high levels of posttrauma symptoms. The most robust risk factors for PTSD are the intensity, severity, or number of exposures. PTSD prevention would ideally consist of making the world a safer place by limiting war, violence, accidents, and disaster. Since such events are an inevitable part of many people's lives, depending on their occupations, the best that can be done is to help those most at-risk for unavoidable trauma to prepare for and receive treatment for PTSD. This paper examines ways of promoting healthy adaptation to unavoidable posttrauma exposure in those workers most at risk for such exposure. It draws on etiological models of traumatic stress response to explain how cognition and behavior in the course of exposure to potentially traumatic events may influence adaptation to the events. Many studies have examined cognitive-behavioral (CB) mechanisms associated with traumatization and posttrauma symptoms. The author briefly reviews this empirical research in order to identify CB factors that are theorized to be key determinants in the etiology of PTSD. The authors hypothesize that intervention which targets those mechanisms can help minimize the impact of posttraumatic events. They then propose theory-driven interventions that might be developed as part of a research program designed to protect workers against adverse posttrauma outcomes. 111 references