Reports of Community Violence Exposure, Traumatic Loss, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and Complicated Grief Among Guatemalan Aid Workers

This study explores exposure to community violence (CV) and traumatic loss and their relation to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and grief symptoms among Guatemalan aid workers. Out of 135 workers surveyed, 79% reported that someone close to them had died, and 33% reported a loss that was rated as traumatic. The average number of lifetime incidents of CV reported was 13, and the highest was 32. In all, 36% of the sample reported symptoms that meet criteria for PTSD.Those participants who reported a traumatic loss also reported significantly higher complicated grief (CG) scores, and those who reported a traumatic human-perpetrated loss also reported significantly higher levels of hyperarousal PTSD symptoms than those who reported a traumatic loss that was nonhuman perpetrated.

本研究探讨了危地马拉救援人员所遭受的社区暴力（CV）和创伤性丧失情况，以及它们与创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）和悲伤症状之间的关系。在接受调查的135名工作人员中，79%的人表示身边有人死亡，33%的人表示经历了被评定为创伤性的丧失。报告的一生所经历的社区暴力事件平均数量为13起，最高为32起。总体而言，36%的样本报告有符合创伤后应激障碍标准的症状。那些报告有创伤性丧失的参与者也报告了明显更高的复杂性悲伤（CG）分数，并且那些报告有人为造成的创伤性丧失的参与者也比那些报告非人为造成的创伤性丧失的参与者报告了明显更高水平的创伤后应激障碍过度警觉症状。