(Press-News.org) In a survey-based study of 3rd to 12th grade students in Puerto Rico after 2017’s Hurricane Maria, certain symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were linked with a higher risk of using drugs or alcohol.
The study, which is published in the Journal of Traumatic Stress, included 91,732 youths who completed a survey 5–9 months after Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico. Associations between PTSD symptoms and substance use were examined using a network conceptualization, which views disorders as stemming from interactions between symptoms. This approach identified irritable behavior and angry outburst symptoms of PTSD as being associated with the greatest risk for coping through substance use after a natural disaster. This association was more pronounced among youths who did not have a supportive caregiver, friend, or teacher/counselor in their life.
Two PTSD symptom clusters were identified: 1) arousal and reactivity, negative alterations in cognition and mood, and substance use; and 2) avoidance and intrusion. Sleep disturbance and physiological reactivity to trauma reminders were identified as important bridge symptoms connecting these clusters. These findings suggest that interventions targeting sleep and physiological reactivity to trauma reminders after a natural disaster may be effective in disrupting the interaction between PTSD symptoms that maintain this disorder among youths.
“The current global climate crisis makes disaster inevitable in Puerto Rico, which can have a lasting impact on the lives of youths and the broader community,” said corresponding author Alejandro Luis Vázquez, PhD, of the University of Tennessee. “While it is useful to identify individual-level risk factors to guide triage intervention efforts, there is a need to address colonialist policies that have denied adequate investment and aid following natural disasters in Puerto Rico, which limits available support services and negatively impacts the mental health of youths.”
URL upon publication: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jts.23008
Additional Information
NOTE: The information contained in this release is protected by copyright. Please include journal attribution in all coverage. For more information or to obtain a PDF of any study, please contact: Sara Henning-Stout, newsroom@wiley.com.
About the Journal
Journal of Traumatic Stress is an interdisciplinary forum for the publication of peer-reviewed original papers on biopsychosocial aspects of trauma. Papers focus on theoretical formulations, research, treatment, prevention education/training, and legal and policy concerns. It is the official publication of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS).
About Wiley
Wiley is a knowledge company and a global leader in research, publishing, and knowledge solutions. Dedicated to the creation and application of knowledge, Wiley serves the world’s researchers, learners, innovators, and leaders, helping them achieve their goals and solve the world's most important challenges. For more than two centuries, Wiley has been delivering on its timeless mission to unlock human potential. Visit us at Wiley.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.
END
Do symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder facilitate substance use as a coping method among children after a natural disaster?
2024-01-10
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Microplastics affect soil fungi depending on drought conditions
2024-01-10
Moisture levels in the soil can impact the effects that microplastic pollution has on soil fungi, according to new research published in Environmental Microbiology.
By studying soil samples mixed with microplastics under different conditions, investigators found that when soil is well-watered, toxic chemicals in microplastics can leach into the soil and hinder soil fungal richness. With dry soil, however, the leaching of water-extractable chemicals is less pronounced and therefore less impactful on soil fungal structure.
The researchers also noted that under dry conditions, microplastics help soil hold water for longer, which could help ...
Is a commonly used screening tool for cognitive impairment accurate in diverse populations?
2024-01-10
A screening tool often used in primary care clinics to detect cognitive impairment has shortcomings when applied to ethnically and linguistically diverse older adults, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
The study looked to see whether currently published English and Spanish cut points for cognitive impairment in the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) are appropriate in diverse community-based adults aged 65 years or older with cognitive concerns in the Bronx, New York. There were 231 participants (43% ...
Do individual-level mental health interventions improve employees’ wellbeing?
2024-01-10
Many businesses are making efforts to promote workers’ wellbeing, and numerous interventions are available at the individual and organizational levels. New research published in the Industrial Relations Journal found no evidence that individual-level mental wellbeing interventions like mindfulness, resilience and stress management, relaxation classes, and wellbeing apps benefit employees.
The study was based on survey data from 46,336 workers in 233 organizations in the UK. Across multiple subjective wellbeing indicators, participants in individual-level mental wellbeing interventions appeared no better off than other workers.
The study’s ...
Discovery of immense fortifications dating back 4,000 years in north-western Arabia
2024-01-10
The North Arabian Desert oases were inhabited by sedentary populations in the 4th and 3rd millennia BCE. A fortification enclosing the Khaybar Oasis—one of the longest known going back to this period—was just revealed by a team of scientists from the CNRS1 and the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU). This new walled oasis is, along with that of Tayma, one of the two largest in Saudi Arabia. While a number of walled oases dating back to the Bronze Age had already been documented, this major discovery sheds new light on human occupation in north-western Arabia, and provides ...
Higher viral load during HIV infection can shape viral evolution
2024-01-10
A new paper in Molecular Biology and Evolution, published by Oxford University Press, finds that HIV populations in people with higher viral loads also have higher rates of viral recombination. In effect, the more HIV in the blood, the easier it is for the virus to diversify.
One of the reasons HIV has historically been so difficult to combat is the virus’s exceptionally high rate of recombination. Recombination enables the exchange of genetic information across strains of the virus and drives HIV’s evolution within people. This genetic exchange ...
More than 900 chemicals, many found in consumer products and the environment, display breast-cancer causing traits
2024-01-10
With tens of thousands of synthetic chemicals on the market, and new ones in development all the time, knowing which ones might be harmful is a challenge both for the federal agencies that regulate them and the companies that use them in products. Now scientists have found a quick way to predict if a chemical is likely to cause breast cancer based on whether the chemical harbors specific traits.
“This new study provides a roadmap for regulators and manufacturers to quickly flag chemicals ...
Agility in cultural heritage management—Advancing competence within uncertainty as a sustainable and resilient adaptation to processes of dynamic change
2024-01-10
The intense changes in our modern society and the associated challenges are constantly increasing, not least due to the meta-crisis of climate change. Yet our approach to cultural heritage is still strongly influenced by the narrative of preservation. The article aims to find solutions within the interplay of preservation and change. Based on the psychological impact on society resulting from the current challenges, it is argued that cultural heritage experts need competencies in dealing with uncertainty and tolerance of ambiguity in order to provide security of action. The article applies insights from multiple disciplines to urban environment studies and advocates for a systemic understanding ...
Prestigious American Historical Review showcases UT class where video games meet history
2024-01-10
Tore Olsson put his students in touch with American history through his popular and award-winning class “Red Dead America: Exploring America’s Violent Past Through the Hit Video Games.” Now this engagement has reached beyond the classroom—the historical profession’s most prestigious journal, the American Historical Review, just published a major feature on the class as an example of creative and innovative history teaching.
Olsson is an associate professor and director of graduate studies in UT’s Department of History. His focus as a historian is the United States since the Civil War, with a particular interest in the US South, ...
Observing single protein with infrared nanospectroscopy
2024-01-10
Infrared vibrational spectrum of a single protein is observed using advanced measurement techniques based on near-field optical microscopy. This method utilizes light confined at the nanometer scale, allowing for the detailed analysis of extremely small samples, which was previously challenging with conventional infrared spectroscopy. The achievement represents a major advancement towards technological innovations such as ultra-sensitive and super-resolution infrared imaging, as well as single-molecule vibrational spectroscopy.
Infrared ...
Volume of grey brain matter significantly lower in people with Early Onset Psychosis
2024-01-10
New research from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience has found an association between a reduction in grey matter in the brain and Early Onset Psychosis (EOP).
The study, published in Molecular Psychiatry, is the largest ever brain imaging study in EOP and has provided unprecedented levels of detail about the illness. It shows that, in contrast to other mental health disorders, people with EOP have a reduced volume of grey matter across nearly all regions of their brain. Researchers hope that this detailed mapping ...