title: Acute stress reactions following the assassination of Mexican presidential candidate Colosio.
abstract: Considerable evidence suggests that exposure to traumatic events increases the risk of developing anxiety-spectrum disorders in response to later traumatization. We conducted a survey in Guadalajara, Mexico to assess factors associated with acute stress reactions to the assassination of a political figure. Participants included 86 adults who completed the Stanford Acute Stress Reaction Questionnaire (SASRQ) and measures of the perceived impact of the assassination, exhibited emotional behavior following the assassination, and had exposure to a specific prior disaster (a gas pipeline explosion). The results suggest that acute stress reactions can occur in response to an assassination, and that those most susceptible are those most emotionally invested, those who engage in emotional behavioral responses, and those whose lives have been affected by a previous potentially traumatic event.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, California 94305-5718, USA. jrm@stanford.edu
authors.forename: José R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Maldonado
authors.forename: Kathy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Page
authors.forename: Cheryl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Koopman
authors.forename: Lisa D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Butler
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Stein
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Spiegel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005197:Famous Persons; D005260:Female; D006708:Homicide; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011057:Politics; D040701:Stress Disorders, Traumatic, Acute / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D013997:Time Factors