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Differences in changes in health‐related anxiety between Western and non‐Western participants in a trauma‐focused study
Author(s) -
Verschuur Margot J.,
Maric Marija,
Spinhoven Philip
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1002/jts.20519
Subject(s) - anxiety , psychology , clinical psychology , anxiety disorder , public health , psychiatry , medicine , nursing
Disaster victims from ethnic minorities manifest more health complaints and concerns than others following a medical investigation. The authors aimed at analyzing ethnicity as a proxy for risk factors predictive of changes in health‐related anxiety, and mediators that explain ethnic group differences after participating in a medical investigation. Western ( n = 406) and non‐Western participants ( n = 379) were assessed at baseline and 12‐week follow‐up. Education, unemployment, years of residence, and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms were independent predictors of changes in health‐related anxiety, excluding ethnicity. The predictive value of ethnicity was mediated mainly by changes in psychopathology, fatigue, and quality of life. Stronger responses to a trauma‐related investigation by more vulnerable ethnic minority groups may explain their enhanced health‐related anxiety.