Test Course

• This course closed on 1 January 2022.

• Course CPD Units:  2 – General
• Contributor:  Mr Wentzel Christoffel Coetzer

Introduction

Background: Traumatic stress may arise from various incidents often leading to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The lifetime prevalence of PTSD is estimated at 1% – 2% in Western Europe, 6% – 9% in North America and at just over 10% in countries exposed to long-term violence. In South Africa, the lifetime prevalence for PTSD in the general population is estimated at 2.3%. To examine the prevalence of posttraumatic stress symptomatology and related psychological functioning in a community sample of adolescents. Low-socioeconomic communities in KwaZulu-Natal. Home interviews with adolescents and their maternal caregivers were used to collect the data using standardised instruments. Adolescents completed the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children; Children’s Depression Inventory; Children’s Somatization Inventory; and Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale. The Child Behaviour Checklist was completed by the caregivers. The sample comprised Grade 7 (n = 256) and Grade 10 (n = 68) learners. Sixty-five percent of the sample was female, and ages ranged from 9 to 18 (M = 13.11, s.d. = 1.54). Almost 6% of the sample endorsed PTSD and an additional 4% of the participants had clinically significant traumatic stress symptomatology. There was a significant, large, positive correlation between posttraumatic stress and anxiety, and medium positive correlations between posttraumatic stress and depression and somatic symptoms. Posttraumatic stress symptomatology can be debilitating, often co-occurring with symptoms of depression, anxiety and somatic complications. This may lead to long-term academic, social and emotional consequences in this vulnerable group.

Educational Objectives

Educational Outcomes

Upon completion of this module practitioners should have a clear understanding of:

1. The fact that trauma or PTSD arrives from various incidents in South Africa.
2. That PTSD is correlated with anxiety; depression and somatic symptoms.
3. How PTSD effects Lower-socioeconomic communities in South Africa

• Read the supplied reading material and complete the quiz that follows;
• You have three attempts to pass the quiz;
• The pass grade is 70%;
• You need to pass the quiz to claim your CPD certificate.

Click on the Reading Material and Quiz to Continue