Citation

Fekih-Romdhane F, Chennoufi L, Cheour M. Community Ment. Health J. 2017; 53(7): 852-858.

Affiliation

University of Tunis El Manar, Faculty of Medicine of Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10597-017-0085-z

PMID

28176209

Abstract

On March 18, 2015, two gunmen attacked the Bardo museum in Tunis, Tunisia, killing 23 foreign tourists. We assessed PTSD and depression symptoms 4-6 weeks after the event among museum workers, in relation to sociodemographic factors and social support, and we analysed the determinants and predictor factors of PTSD and depression symptoms among the participants. Our findings indicated that 68.6% of the respondents had posttraumatic stress symptoms above the cutoff point (IER-S scores >33), and 40.6% reported severe levels of depressive symptoms (DASS-depression scores >20). Male and female participants did not significantly differ in terms of their symptom severities. Low social support was the best predictor of PTSD and depression symptoms. Our results suggest that interventions designed to reinforce ties within social networks may be particularly helpful for victims in the aftermath of a terrorist attack.

Language: en

Keywords

Depression; Exposure to terror; Post-traumatic stress disorders; Terrorism; Trauma