Trauma, Stress, and Mental Health in South Africa

说明(由申请者提供)：这个拟议的项目寻求三年的支持，以系统地研究南非暴露于出于政治动机的创伤和暴力的流行率和心理健康后果。它将考虑暴力行为对肇事者和幸存者的心理后遗症。此外，在世界上受艾滋病疫情影响最严重的国家之一，这项研究将探讨艾滋病毒/艾滋病的感知威胁对心理的影响。这项工作的具体目标如下：1)了解种族隔离期间暴露于政治动机的创伤的发生率和分布；2)通过适当使用有针对性的比较和统计控制，仔细和谨慎地研究观察到的关联，评估暴露于创伤和精神健康之间的关系；3)评估感知的艾滋病毒/艾滋病易感性和精神疾病风险之间的关联；4)研究一系列假设的压力素质变量在修正压力暴露和心理健康之间的关联方面的效果；5)估计当前的流行率和社会人口相关 这些活动包括：(1)研究南非常见的精神障碍以及与这些障碍相关的作用损害；(6)调查真相与和解委员会(真相与和解委员会)对南非人心理健康的影响；(7)研究目前患有精神障碍的南非人寻求非正式和专业帮助的预测因素。南非在这些问题上没有具有全国代表性的数据，拟议的研究提供了一个前所未有的机会，以加强我们对原籍国在过渡到多数统治后不久就暴露于种族-政治暴力的心理健康后果的了解。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant):This proposed project seeks three years of support to systematically examine the prevalence and mental health consequences of exposure to politically motivated trauma and violence in South Africa. It will consider the psychological sequelae of violent acts for both perpetrators and survivors. In addition, in one of the countries of the world hardest hit by the AIDS epidemic, this study will explore the psychological impact of the perceived threat of HIV/AIDS. This work has the following specific aims: 1) To learn about the prevalence and distribution of exposure to politically motivated trauma during apartheid; 2) To assess the relationship between exposure to trauma and mental health by carefully and cautiously studying the observed associations with appropriate use of targeted comparisons and statistical controls; 3) To assess the association between perceived vulnerability to HIV/AIDS and the risk of psychiatric disorders; 4) To study the effects of a series of hypothesized stress-diathesis variables in modifying the associations between stress exposure and mental health; 5) To estimate the current prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of commonly occurring mental disorders in South Africa and the role impairments associated with these disorders; 6) To investigate the impact of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) on the mental health of South Africans; and 7) To study predictors of informal and professional help-seeking among South Africans who currently have mental disorders. No nationally representative data exists on these issues in South Africa and the proposed study provides an unprecedented opportunity to enhance our understanding of the mental health consequences of exposure to racial-political violence in the country of origin only a short time after transition to majority rule.