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Reactions to trauma research among women recently exposed to a campus shooting
Author(s) -
Fergus Thomas A.,
Rabenhorst Mandy M.,
Orcutt Holly K.,
Valentiner David P.
Publication year - 2011
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.20682
Subject(s) - distress , psychology , anxiety , clinical psychology , depression (economics) , skin conductance , psychiatry , medicine , biomedical engineering , economics , macroeconomics
Subjective and objective reactions to writing and reading a narrative of their experiences after having been recently exposed to a campus shooting were examined in 58 women. Posttraumatic stress, depression, anxiety symptoms, and physical exposure to the shooting were considered in relation to laboratory indices. The latter used a multimethod approach to index distress; these included subjective (self‐report) and objective (heart rate, skin conductance, and cortisol) components. Consistent with prior research, reports of symptoms were significantly positively correlated with subjective distress ( r ranged from .35 to .45), but only posttraumatic stress symptoms uniquely predicted subjective distress in regression analyses (partial r = .33). Objective distress, however, was not significantly related to any participant measure. Finally, a clear majority (85%) of participants reported they would participate in the study again. Points of convergence and divergence with prior studies are discussed.