title: Risk and protective factors in the development of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms among a cohort of students in two tertiary institutions post Hurricane Ivan.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study seeks to identify factors associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following Hurricane Ivan among a cohort of tertiary-level students in Jamaica.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 22-item, self-administered questionnaire was administered to a non-random sample. Using parametric and non-parametric analyses, the relationship between PTSD symptoms and several variables was examined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Feeling anxious, worried or fearful and/or experiencing loss and injury during the hurricane were significant (p < 0.01) predictors for PTSD symptoms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Factors predicting the development of PTSD symptoms were feeling anxious, worried or fearful during the hurricane and experiencing loss of property and/or death or injury of a family member during the hurricane.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health and Psychiatry, The University of the West Indies, Kingston 7, Jamaica, West Indies.
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.forename: W D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Abel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology; D055867:Cyclonic Storms; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult