A qualitative analysis of posttraumatic stress among Mexican victims of disaster.
In unstructured interviews, 24 Mexicans described survivors' responses to disasters in Guadalajara, Jalisco (n = 9), Homestead, Florida (n = 6), and Puerto Angel, Oaxaca (n = 9). This analysis assessed the extent to which symptom descriptions corresponded to the 17 criterion symptoms of PTSD. Nineteen participants (79%) mentioned from 1 to 9 criterion symptoms. Event-related distress, hypervigilance, recurrent recollections, and avoiding reminders were described most often. Only 3 criterion symptoms were never described. Twenty participants (83%) provided 109 separate expressions that could not be classified specifically as criterion symptoms. These phrases were sorted by 9 independent Mexican volunteers and cluster analyzed. Clusters composed of ataques de nervios, depression, lasting trauma, and somatic complaints provided the best description of the data.
Norris
F H
FH
Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta 30303, USA. fnorris@gsu.edu
Weisshaar
D L
DL
Conrad
M L
ML
Diaz
E M
EM
Murphy
A D
AD
Lbañez
G E
GE
D000328:Adult; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003469:Culture; D004190:Disasters; D005260:Female; D005431:Florida / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*