Original scientific paper
Prognostical Characteristics of the W-PTSD Instrument for Determining Posttraumatic Sterss Disordes in Persons with Visual Impairment
Tina Runjić
Branko Nikolić
Ante Bilić-Prcić
Abstract
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder has been defined in the more recent literature as a set of the specific symptoms occurring in
some individuals, after they have been exposed directly or as witnesses to a traumatic experience that would be very traumatic
for the most persons. Their reaction to such experience was strong fear, feeling of helplessness or horror. The development of the
symptoms of such disorder is determined by the traits of the personality of the exposed individual, type and intensity of the trauma,
role that the person had during the traumatic incident, and the environment-circumstances. The existence of the posttraumatic
disorder in a person can be identified with a number of the standardized instruments. Although there is a significant number
of research works available in the literature studying this disorder and its various aspects, it is almost impossible to find those
dealing with this disorder in the population of the persons with vision impairments. Therefore, it could not be established with
certainty whether the instruments adequate to identify PTSP in the general population were equally reliable concerning the
persons with vision impairments that were likely to manifest such disorder. In order to determine the reliability of the W-PTSD
instruments for the persons suffering from vision impairments that had been exposed to the traumatic experience it was necessary
to apply along with this instrument also the additional standardized instrument to determine PTSP. The LASC-01 questionnaire
was used for this purpose. It was determined based on the results of the research that was carried out on 28 blind persons disabled
in the Croatian War of Independence that in both questionnaires in the area of the PTSP measuring variables the respondents had
similar results. The conclusion that can be made based on this is that the W-PTSD instrument is the proper instrument to be used
to determine PTSP in the population of the persons with vision impairments.
Keywords
visual impairment; posttraumatic stress disorders; blind; veterans
Hrčak ID:
16741
URI
Publication date:
1.10.2006.
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