TY - JOUR PY - 2004// TI - Hispanic ethnicity and post-traumatic stress disorder after a disaster: evidence from a general population survey after September 11, 2001 JO - Annals of epidemiology A1 - Galea, Sandro A1 - Vlahov, David A1 - Tracy, Melissa A1 - Hoover, Donald R. A1 - Resnick, Heidi S. A1 - Kilpatrick, Dean G. SP - 520 EP - 531 VL - 14 IS - 8 N2 - PURPOSE: To assess ethnic differences in the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after a disaster, and to assess the factors that may explain these differences. METHODS: We used data from a representative survey of the New York City metropolitan area (n=2,616) conducted 6 months after September 11, 2001. Linear models were fit to assess differences in the prevalence of PTSD between different groups of Hispanics and non-Hispanics and to evaluate potential explanatory variables. RESULTS: Hispanics of Dominican or Puerto Rican origin (14.3% and 13.2%, respectively) were more likely than other Hispanics (6.1%) and non-Hispanics (5.2%) to report symptoms consistent with probable PTSD after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Dominicans and Puerto Ricans were more likely than persons of other races/ethnicities to have lower incomes, be younger, have lower social support, have had greater exposure to the September 11 attacks, and to have experienced a peri-event panic attack upon hearing of the September 11 attacks; these variables accounted for 60% to 74% of the observed higher prevalence of probable PTSD in these groups. CONCLUSION: Socio-economic position, event exposures, social support, and peri-event emotional reactions may help explain differences in PTSD risk after disaster between Hispanic subgroups and non-Hispanics.
Language: en
LA - en SN - 1047-2797 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.annepidem.2004.01.006 ID - ref1 ER -