Am J Psychiatry 1995; 152:1815-1818
Copyright © 1995 by American Psychiatric Association

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Impact of cumulative lifetime trauma and recent stress on current posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in holocaust survivors

R Yehuda, B Kahana, J Schmeidler, SM Southwick, S Wilson and EL Giller
Department of Psychiatry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among cumulative lifetime trauma, recent stressful events, and presence and severity of current posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in Holocaust survivors and nonexposed comparison subjects. METHOD: Lifetime trauma, recent stressful events, and presence and severity of PTSD were assessed in Holocaust survivors (N=72) and comparison subjects ( N=19). RESULTS: Survivors with PTSD (N =40) reported significantly greater cumulative trauma and recent stress than survivors without PTSD (N=32) and comparison subjects. Severity of PTSD symptoms, cumulative trauma, and recent stress were significantly associated. CONCLUSIONS: The presence and severity of current PTSD were related to having experienced stressful events in addition to the Holocaust.

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