Contextualizing post-traumatic stress disorder within culturally diverse groups: a comparison of Holocaust survivors and Sudanese refugees

ABSTRACT

Debate over the validity of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in culturally and contextually diverse groups with histories of trauma needs to consider clinical response, and while not overlooking the presence of PTSD, sensitivity to contextual variation in response to trauma is important. We report on a study that examined PTSD within two culturally distinct populations living in Australia: Sudanese refugees and Holocaust survivors. Measures used included the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire - Revised and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale – Brief (WHOQOL-Bref). Samples were contrasted using T-tests for PTSD case-ness, Mann–Whitney U’s to compare PTSD symptom endorsement and Pearson correlations to explore relationships between PTSD case-ness and symptoms with quality of life (QOL). Whilst PTSD case-ness was found to negatively correlate with QOL in both groups, group differences were found in relationship strength between traumatic memory and QOL. Difference indicates the need to contextualize PTSD and its symptoms not only by considering symptom endorsement, but also by symptom interpretation.

KEYWORDS:

• PTSD
• trauma
• holocaust survivors
• Sudanese
• cultural responses

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Dr. Jarrod White is a clinical psychologist in Melbourne, practicing at The Melbourne DBT Centre and The Mind Room. He completed his Clinical Doctorate in psychology at the Centre for Developmental Psychiatry and Psychology, with the School of Psychological Sciences at Monash University. He is additionally a guest lecturer at Monash University in the School of Psychological Sciences, with a research focus on the interplay between culture, society, and mental health.

Louise Newman AM is Chair of Psychiatry at the University of Melbourne and Director of the Centre for Womens Mental Health , Royal Woman's Hospital. Her research focuses on early intervention for parenting disturbance and the treatment of trauma related disorders. She coordinated programmes for women experiencing domestic violence and for women and infants seeking asylum in Australia.

Dr. Glenn A. Melvin is a senior lecturer at the Centre for Developmental Psychiatry and Psychology in the School of Clinical Sciences at Monash University. He is a clinical psychologist by training and also holds an Honorary Associate Professor position at the Centre for Educational Design, Appraisal and Research at the University of Warwick, UK.

Lenore Manderson is Distinguished Professor of Public Health and Medical Anthropology in the School of Public Health at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, and in the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society (IBES), Brown University, Providence, RI. Her work focuses on inequalities as reflected through chronic conditions and the impact of these of social determinants of health.

Dr Katrina Simpson has worked in the field of Psychology since 2003. She completed her doctorate in Educational and Developmental Psychology at Western Sydney University. She is a registered psychologist currently working in the School of Psychological Sciences at Monash University. Her research areas include psychosis and early intervention, cultural variations in measurement, forensic psychology and drug and alcohol programs. Katrina coordinates the honours and doctoral level statistical units at Clayton and Malaysian campuses for Psychology and is the higher degree by research consultant for the school. She is also interested in the delivery of online statistical level units and has designed, developed and presented complete online units for doctoral and post graduate level delivery in statistics.

ORCID

Glenn Melvin http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6958-3908

Lenore Manderson http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7883-1790