Campus Location
Abilene Campus (Residential)
Date of Award
5-2011
Document Type
Thesis
Department
Psychology
Degree Name
Master of Science
Committee Chair or Primary Advisor
Richard Beck
Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor
Stephen Allison
Third Committee Member or Committee Reader
Amy Toone
Abstract
Thousands of cross-cultural nurses are deployed worldwide into countries other than their home countries, which can be in developing areas where vast amounts of disease, famine, poverty, and conflict exist. In an effort to provide necessary and otherwise inaccessible aid to the residents in these areas, nurses and other mission workers volunteer their time and expertise toward alleviating the physical and emotional suffering of these unfortunate individuals. Working under such traumatic conditions can lead professionals and paraprofessionals alike to becoming predisposed to various psychological disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can be long-lasting and affect multiple areas of one's life. This was a study conducted on a convenience sample of 35 nurses working in multiple regions in Africa and Western-Asia who were asked to complete an online questionnaire containing demographic information and two sections of the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire-Revised, which assessed for PTSD symptoms and events. The findings suggested that older and more experienced nurses reported less PTSD symptoms, and younger, less experienced nurses reported more symptoms; however, one significant correlation was noted between age and arousal, which suggested that perhaps the younger nurses are experiencing more anxiety or stress, as opposed to PTSD. The most frequently reported traumatic event reported was robbery at 57.1%. Approximately 8.5% met PTSD criteria, and approximately 23% were at a level of clinical concern. Overall, these rates are higher than the national PTSD prevalence rates suggesting a need for treatment within this population.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Paschall, Susan D., "Psychological Trauma Amongst Cross-Cultural Nurses" (2011). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 360.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/360