title: Traumatic events and physical health in a New Zealand community sample.
abstract: Traumatic event exposure and physical health were examined in a community-residing sample of 1,500 New Zealand adults. Half (51%) reported past traumatic event exposure, 9% reported recent (past 12 months) trauma exposure, and 40% reported no exposure. After adjusting for gender, ethnic, and age differences, those experiencing crime and accident trauma exhibited significantly deteriorated physical health, as measured by current physical symptoms, chronic medical conditions, and chronic limitations in daily functioning. Further research is required to assess the influence of traumatic events on the physical health among adults from other countries, and to evaluate the factors that may mediate or moderate this relationship for different subgroups of the New Zealand population. Limitations of this study are outlined.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Ross A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Flett
authors.forename: Nikolaos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kazantzis
authors.forename: Nigel R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Long
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: MacDonald
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Millar
mesh_terms: D000059:Accidents / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003415:Crime / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004190:Disasters / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009520:New Zealand