The Moderating Impact of Interacting with Distressed Families of Decedents on Trauma Exposure in Medical Examiner Personnel

Details

• Personal Author:
  Brondolo E ; Coleman JA ; Delahanty DL ; Murani K ; Schwartz J
• Description:
  Objectives: Prior research has examined the incidence of posttraumatic stress stemming from either direct or indirect trauma exposure in employees of high-risk occupations. However, few studies have examined the contribution of both direct and indirect trauma exposure in high-risk groups. One particularly salient indirect trauma often endorsed as the most stressful by many occupational groups is interacting with distressed family members of victims of crime, illness, or accidents. The present study examined the extent to which interacting with distressed families moderated the impact of cumulative potentially traumatic event (PTE) exposure on depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in 245 employees of medical examiner (ME) offices. Method: Employees from 9 ME office sites in the United States participated in an online survey investigating the frequency of work place PTE exposures (direct and indirect) and mental health outcomes. Results: Results revealed that cumulative PTE exposure was associated with higher PTSD symptoms (PTSS) for employees who had higher frequency of exposure to distressed family members. After controlling for cumulative and direct PTE exposure, gender, and office site, exposure to distressed families was significantly associated with depressive symptoms, but not PTSS. Conclusions: Findings of our research underscore the need for training employees in high-risk occupations to manage their reactions to exposure to distraught family members. Employee training may buffer risk for developing PTSD and depression. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Health Personnel Mental Health Nervous System Occupational Health Safety Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic Workplace
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Medical Examiner Depression Medical Personnel Mental Health Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Posttraumatic Stress Psychological Responses PTSD Trauma Exposure Traumatic Incident Stress Workplace Studies

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• ISSN:
  1942-9681
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  8
• Issue:
  6
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20057394
• Citation:
  Psychol Trauma 2016 Nov; 8(6):668-675
• Contact Point Address:
  Jennifer A Coleman, Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center, Lackland Air Force Base, 2200 Bergquist Drive, Ste 1, San Antonio, TX 78236
• Email:
  jbernier@kent.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• Performing Organization:
  St. John's University, Queens, New York
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20100901
• Source Full Name:
  Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy
• End Date:
  20130131
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:edc2efb0de9db498a81b8f68a62f7facdc76e55dc59dd278ca948a617903585f2f20f9ea92924d2cae64b53ad22c294405de02c8c1355e65fcaa6675f9a9333e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/214754/cdc_214754_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 120.50 KB ]