Biomaterial Database

Exposure to trauma: the long-term effects of suppressing emotional reactions. 2002

Colin A Wastell

Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Sydney, Australia.

A cross-sectional study of 437 ambulance officers in a large state of Australia examined the long-term effects of suppressing emotion reactions to exposure to trauma. Results indicate that the use of emotion-suppressing defenses (e.g., withdrawal or acting out) have a highly significant positive relationship with physical and psychological stress symptoms. Alexithymia scores were also positively associated with stress symptoms. In addition, there was a positive association between years of ambulance service and stress symptoms. Implications of the findings are discussed for recovery from exposure to trauma of emergency services personnel and more generally to the experience of survivors of trauma.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008016	Life Change Events	Those occurrences, including social, psychological, and environmental, which require an adjustment or effect a change in an individual's pattern of living.	Life Course,Life Crises,Life Crisis,Life Experiences,Course, Life,Crisis, Life,Event, Life Change,Experience, Life,Life Change Event,Life Courses,Life Experience
D008297	Male		Males
D008875	Middle Aged	An adult aged 45 - 64 years.	Middle Age
D012094	Repression, Psychology	The active mental process of keeping out and ejecting, banishing from consciousness, ideas or impulses that are unacceptable to it.	Delayed Memory,False Memory Syndrome,Repressed Memory,Repression,Delayed Memories,False Memory Syndromes,Memories, Delayed,Memories, Repressed,Memory Syndrome, False,Memory, Delayed,Memory, Repressed,Psychology Repression,Syndrome, False Memory
D003430	Cross-Sectional Studies	Studies in which the presence or absence of disease or other health-related variables are determined in each member of the study population or in a representative sample at one particular time. This contrasts with LONGITUDINAL STUDIES which are followed over a period of time.	Disease Frequency Surveys,Prevalence Studies,Analysis, Cross-Sectional,Cross Sectional Analysis,Cross-Sectional Survey,Surveys, Disease Frequency,Analyses, Cross Sectional,Analyses, Cross-Sectional,Analysis, Cross Sectional,Cross Sectional Analyses,Cross Sectional Studies,Cross Sectional Survey,Cross-Sectional Analyses,Cross-Sectional Analysis,Cross-Sectional Study,Cross-Sectional Surveys,Disease Frequency Survey,Prevalence Study,Studies, Cross-Sectional,Studies, Prevalence,Study, Cross-Sectional,Study, Prevalence,Survey, Cross-Sectional,Survey, Disease Frequency,Surveys, Cross-Sectional
D003674	Defense Mechanisms	Unconscious process used by an individual or a group of individuals in order to cope with impulses, feelings or ideas which are not acceptable at their conscious level; various types include reaction formation, projection and self reversal.	Mechanisms, Defense
D003717	Denial, Psychological	Refusal to admit the truth or reality of a situation or experience.	Denial, Psychology,Psychological Denial
D005260	Female		Females
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000184	Acting Out	Expressing unconscious emotional conflicts or feelings, often of hostility or love, through overt behavior.