PTSD And Other Health Consequences Of Exposure To Trauma

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This research will highlight two central factors inadequately addressed in our understanding of the pathway from political violence, specifically torture, to differential mental health outcomes. First, the affirmative appraisal of control, such as through religious and political meaning, is hypothesized to reduce posttraumatic psychiatric morbidity. Second, neuroendocrine activity, specifically low cortisol levels, is hypothesized to associate inversely with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms among trauma survivors. This study is a prospective longitudinal investigation of torture survivors in Nepal followed over an eighteen month period. One hundred torture survivors and fifty control participants will be assessed for PTSD symptoms, appraisal of controllability, physical health, and salivary cortisol levels. Ultimately, this research has relevance to prevention and intervention for mental health sequelae for Americans affected by poltical violence, foreign-born Americans who have fled political violence, and populations with endemic political violence.