Biomedical subjects

Steven Farmer

Publications and source records attributed to Steven Farmer.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Differentiating posttraumatic stress between elderly and younger residents.

This study aimed to differentiate between the posttraumatic stress responses of elderly and younger community residents who had been exposed to two technological disasters (a train collision and an aircraft crash). One hundred and forty-eight community residents were assessed using the Impact of Event Scale (IES) and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28). The results showed that age differences were not affected by impact of disaster (IES), suggesting that elderly and younger community residents responded to the disasters similarly. Instead, the community residents exposed to the aircraft crash experienced significantly more intrusion and avoidance than those exposed to the train collision. Also, the community residents who had experienced high exposure to the disasters had significantly more intrusive thoughts and exhibited significantly more avoidance behavior than the low/medium exposure group. The results also showed no main effects in general health between the elderly and younger community residents, suggesting that their health status was similar. Instead, the community residents exposed to the aircraft crash had significantly more general health problems than the train disaster residents and the control group. Also, the community residents in either the low/medium or the high exposure group experienced more general health problems than the control group. Correlation coefficients showed that intrusion, avoidance, and the total impact of the disasters were significantly correlated with all general health subscales for both elderly and younger groups.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Coping with post-traumatic stress: young, middle-aged and elderly comparisons.

OBJECTIVES: Debate persists about whether people of different ages react similarly to traumatic events, and whether elderly people are more vulnerable to such events, or better able to cope with them. The first aim of this paper was to shed light on this debate by comparing the post-traumatic responses of young, middle-aged and elderly community residents who had been exposed to technological disasters. The second aim was to differentiate between these three age groups in terms of coping strategies. METHODS: One hundred and forty-eight community residents, who were exposed to two technological disasters, participated in the study. They were assessed using the Impact of Event Scale (IES), the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) and the Ways of Coping Checklists (WOC). RESULTS: The results showed that in terms of IES, GHQ and WOC scores, no significant differences were found across the three age groups. However, main effects were found according to type of disaster and intensity of exposure to disaster. One significant interaction effect was that residents exposed to the aircraft crash used significantly more confrontive coping than those exposed to the train collision, in all three age groups. Correlation coefficients results showed that for all three age groups, on the whole, the more they experienced intrusive thoughts and avoidance behaviour, the more they experienced general health problems. CONCLUSIONS: Following exposure to technological disasters, young, middle-aged and elderly community residents could display similar post-traumatic responses and employ similar coping strategies, which contradicts the vulnerability hypothesis and the inoculation hypothesis.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2003

Psychological sequelae: post-traumatic stress reactions and personality factors among community residents as secondary victims.

The aims of the present study were twofold: first, to ascertain the severity of post-traumatic stress among community residents as secondary victims exposed to a train disaster. Secondly, we aimed to identify the association between post-traumatic stress and personality variables. Seven months after the train disaster in Stafford, United Kingdom, in 1996, 66 community residents were recruited and interviewed for the study. In the interviews, residents were assessed using the Impact of Event Scale (IES), the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-R Short Scale (EPQ-R). Control group data were also collected, composed of 90 community residents who lived in another city and had not been exposed to the train disaster. They were assessed using the GHQ. The results showed that 51% of the residents scored at the high IES symptom level. No significant differences were found between the community residents who lived near and further away from the crash site in terms of the IES scores. Further analyses showed that the IES scores for the present two groups of community residents were significantly lower than those of Horowitz's standardized stress clinic samples, but higher than those of Danish rescue workers involved in a train rescue operation. The GHQ results showed that 35% could be considered to be psychiatric cases. The comparisons between the GHQ scores of the present community residents with those of the control group showed that there were significant differences in somatic problems, anxiety, depression and GHQ total. With regard to personality, the community residents who lived near to the crash site were significantly more introverted but less neurotic than Eysenck's standardized samples. The community residents who lived further away were significantly more introverted but less neurotic than the standardized samples. Regression analyses revealed that neuroticism predicted intrusion, avoidance and GHQ total. The conclusion was that there can be long-term, severe post-traumatic stress effects upon community residents, as secondary victims, after exposure to a train disaster. Residents with a neurotic personality tend to be associated with post-traumatic stress reactions and general health problems.

Accidents↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A multiple-indicator multiple-cause model for posttraumatic stress reactions: personality, coping, and maladjustment.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to develop a multiple-indicator multiple-cause model (MIMIC) to describe the relationship among posttraumatic stress (PTSD) responses, general health problems, death anxiety, personality factors, and coping strategies among community residents exposed to the technological disasters of aircraft and train crashes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred forty-eight community residents, after exposure to the aircraft or train crash, were assessed using the Impact of Event Scale, the General Health Questionnaire-28, the Death Anxiety Scale, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, and the Ways of Coping Checklist. The control group (n = 90) comprised members of the general public, who had not been exposed to the disasters, from another city. RESULTS: The model showed significant associations between the impact of the disaster and general health problems, which varied depending on where community residents lived in relation to the disaster site, whether they were present when the disaster occurred, and the type of disaster. The model also suggested that death anxiety was associated with type of disaster and neuroticism. The model supported the interactive model in that personality factors interacted with coping strategies in maintaining or generating PTSD and general health problems. CONCLUSIONS: After exposure to technological disasters, community residents could develop PTSD and general health problems; however, increased death anxiety was a separate psychological reaction. The interaction between certain personality traits and coping strategies was one reason for PTSD and general health problems.

Accidents↗