Attitudes towards trauma victims with or without PTSD symptomology -

Abstract

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental illness that can develop as a response to experiencing a traumatic event and can result in significant impairment and decline in daily functioning. Research has shown that people with PTSD face stigma that negatively affects their recovery. Research has also shown that people who do not develop PTSD after a traumatic event can experience negative attitudes due to the nature of the experienced trauma. The present study investigated attitudes towards people who have experienced different traumatic events (sexual assault and war-related traumatic events) and are either showing or not showing PTSD symptoms. The role of religiosity and gender differences in attitudes were also explored. A total of 254 students from the American University of Beirut completed the Attitudes toward Trauma Victims Scale after reading three vignettes depicting different traumatic events experienced by either female or male victims who had or did not have PTSD symptoms. The results showed that the type of trauma, presence or absence of PTSD, and the gender of the participant affected the attitudes towards the victims. An interaction effect between the type of trauma and the presence or absence of PTSD was also found. The clinical implications, limitation of the study and future considerations are discussed.