Exposure to traumatic events, prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder and alcohol abuse in Aboriginal communities

Gelaye Tadesse Nadew

39 citations0/0 files storedRural and Remote Health

No readable copy stored yet — this record is metadata only.

No open-access location is known for this record yet.

Literature note Cite in a project Citation map

Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research Migration, Health and Trauma

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Generations of Aboriginal people have been exposed to strings of traumatic events with devastating psychosocial health consequences, including psychiatric morbidities and mortalities, and medical complications. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric morbidity directly linked to traumatic events. Despite research findings indicating traumatic exposure and resultant PTSD in Indigenous communities, little attention has been given to this condition in mental healthcare delivery. Consequently, clinical and psychosocial interventions are misguided and failed to deliver positive outcomes. The objective of this study is to explore the relationship between exposure to traumatic events, prevalence of PTSD and alcohol abuse in remote Aboriginal communities in Western Australia. METHODS: A combination of structured clinical interview and multiple survey questionnaires - Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI), and Impact of Events Scale (IES), Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) and Indigenous Trauma Profile (ITP) - were administered to 221 Indigenous participants aged 18 to 65 years. RESULTS: The overwhelming majority, 97.3% (n=215) of participants were exposed to traumatic events. Analysis of CIDI results using DSM-IV diagnostic criteria shows a life time prevalence of 55.2% (n=122) for PTSD, 20% (n=44) for major depression (recurrent) and 2.3% (n=5) for a single episode. A total of 96% (n=212) participants reported consuming a drink containing alcohol and 73.8% (n=163) met diagnostic criteria for alcohol use related disorders, abuse and dependence. Of participants who met the PTSD diagnostic criteria, 91% (n=111) met diagnostic criteria for alcohol use related disorders. Other impacts of trauma such as other anxiety disorders, dysthymic disorder and substances abuses were also identified. CONCLUSION: The rate of exposure to traumatic events and prevalence of PTSD are disproportionately higher in the communities studied than the national average and one of the highest recorded in survivors of specific traumatic events in the world. A very high rate of alcohol abuse and dependence in participants who met diagnostic criteria for PTSD demonstrates correlation between alcohol abuse and PTSD. It also suggests that alcohol is used as self-medication.

Paper brief

Loading…

Cite this work

Citation unavailable for this work.

BibTeX RIS CSL-JSON

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Citations in this library

Citation map →

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 39 citations exist upstream.

References

2001Post-traumatic stress disorder: findings from the Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Well-being 2001The invention of post-traumatic stress disorder and the social usefulness of a psychiatric category 1996The Black Hole of Trauma 1998Early childhood trauma and disorders of extreme stress as predictors of treatment outcome with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder 1992Avoidance and Intrusion in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder 1997Aboriginal sovereignty: reflections on race, state, and nation 1982Aboriginal Australians : black response to white dominance, 1788-1980 2010Working Together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health and Wellbeing Principles and Practice (First Edition)

Cited by

2014Violence risk assessment in Australian Aboriginal offender populations: A review of the literature.2020Drinking risk varies within and between Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander samples: a meta‐analysis to identify sources of heterogeneity 2020A review of school trauma-informed practice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and youth 2013Urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children's exposure to stressful events: a cross‐sectional study

Explore the map →

Papers that cite the same references — the relational fallback while embeddings are still backfilling.

Imported from OpenAlex (CC0) — nothing here is generated.