title: Why are hispanics at greater risk for PTSD?
abstract: Several studies have found that Hispanic Americans have higher rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than non-Hispanic Caucasian and Black Americans. The authors identified predictors of PTSD symptom severity that distinguished Hispanic police officers (n=189) from their non-Hispanic Caucasian (n=317) and Black (n=162) counterparts and modeled them to explain the elevated Hispanic risk for PTSD. The authors found that greater peritraumatic dissociation, greater wishful thinking and self-blame coping, lower social support, and greater perceived racism were important variables in explaining the elevated PTSD symptoms among Hispanics. Results are discussed in the context of Hispanic culture and may be important for prevention of mental illness in the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1109, USA. nnamdi@umich.edu
authors.forename: Nnamdi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pole
authors.forename: Suzanne R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Best
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Metzler
authors.forename: Charles R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Marmar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D044383:Black People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000208:ethnology; D016495:Police; D012307:Risk Factors; D012928:Social Desirability; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001741:Black or African American