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Coping with post-traumatic stress: young, middle-aged and elderly comparisons.

Man Cheung Chung¹, Julie Werrett, Yvette Easthope

¹University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK. m.chung@plymouth.ac.uk

International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry

|April 6, 2004

Summary

Young, middle-aged, and elderly individuals exhibit similar responses and coping strategies after technological disasters. This finding challenges theories suggesting age-related differences in post-traumatic reactions and resilience.

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Area of Science:

Psychology
Trauma Studies
Gerontology

Background:

Ongoing debate exists regarding age-related differences in reactions to traumatic events.
Concerns persist about whether older adults are more vulnerable or better equipped to cope with trauma.

Purpose of the Study:

To compare post-traumatic responses among young, middle-aged, and elderly community residents exposed to technological disasters.
To differentiate coping strategies employed by these age groups.

Main Methods:

148 community residents exposed to two technological disasters participated.
Assessment included the Impact of Event Scale (IES), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), and Ways of Coping Checklists (WOC).

Main Results:

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No significant differences in IES, GHQ, or WOC scores were observed across the three age groups.
Disaster type and exposure intensity significantly impacted outcomes.
Confrontive coping was higher following an aircraft crash compared to a train collision across all age groups.
Intrusive thoughts and avoidance correlated with general health problems in all age groups.

Conclusions:

Young, middle-aged, and elderly individuals show similar post-traumatic responses and coping mechanisms after technological disasters.
These findings contradict the vulnerability and inoculation hypotheses regarding age and trauma.