ESTSS at 20 years: "a phoenix gently rising from a lava flow of European trauma"

Roderick J. Ørner, who was President between 1997 and 1999, traces the phoenix-like origins of the European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ESTSS) from an informal business meeting called during the 1st European Conference on Traumatic Stress (ECOTS) in 1987 to its emergence into a formally constituted society. He dwells on the challenges of tendering a trauma society within a continent where trauma has been and remains endemic. ESTSS successes are noted along with a number of personal reflections on activities that give rise to concern for the present as well as its future prospects. Denial of survivors' experiences and turning away from survivors' narratives by reframing their experiences to accommodate helpers' theory-driven imperatives are viewed with alarm. Arguments are presented for making human rights, memory, and ethics core elements of a distinctive European psycho traumatology, which will secure current ESTSS viability and future integrity

Posttraumatic stress and symptom improvement in Norwegian tourists exposed to the 2004 tsunami – a longitudinal study

Background Mental health consequences of disasters are frequently studied. However, few studies have investigated symptom improvement in victims after natural disasters. This study aimed to identify predictors of 6 months post-disaster stress symptoms and to study 6 months and 24 months course of symptoms among Norwegian tourists who experienced the 2004 tsunami. Methods Norwegian tourists (≥18 years) who experienced the 2004 tsunami (n = 2468) were invited to return a postal questionnaire at two points of time. The first data set was collected at 6 months (T1, n = 899) and the second data set at 24 months post-disaster (T2, n = 1180). The population studied consisted of those who responded at both assessments (n = 674). Impact of Event Scale Revised (IES-R) was used to measure posttraumatic stress symptoms. IES–R score ≥33 (caseness) was used to identify various symptom trajectories from T1 to T2. Multiple linear regression was used to determine predictors of posttraumatic stress at T1 and to identify variables associated with symptom improvement from T1 to T2. Results The majority was identified as non-case at both assessments (57.7%), while 20.8% of the respondents were identified as case at both assessments. Symptoms at T1 were positively related to female gender, older age, unemployment, being chased or caught by the waves, witnessing death or suffering, loss of loved ones, experiencing intense fear during the disaster, low conscientiousness, neuroticism and low levels of social support. The IES-R sum score declined from 24.6 (SD = 18.5) at T1 to 22.9 (SD = 18.3) at T2, p < 0.001. Emotional stability and high IES-R scores at T1 were positively related to symptom improvement, while received social support was not. Being referred to a mental health specialist was negatively related to symptom improvement. Conclusions A significant minority (20-30%) among Norwegian tourists developed enduring posttraumatic stress symptoms in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami. Tsunami exposure, peritraumatic fear, neuroticism and low levels of social support were the strongest predictors of posttraumatic stress at 6 months post-disaster. Decrease in posttraumatic stress was related to emotional stability and higher symptom levels at T1. Being referred to a mental health specialist did not facilitate symptom improvement

Early trauma-focused cognitive-behavioural therapy to prevent chronic post-traumatic stress disorder and related symptoms: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Early trauma-focused cognitive-behavioural therapy (TFCBT) holds promise as a preventive intervention for people at risk of developing chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The aim of this review was to provide an updated evaluation of the effectiveness of early TFCBT on the prevention of PTSD in high risk populations. Methods We performed a systematic literature search in international electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CENTRAL, CINAHL, ISI and PILOTS) and included randomised controlled trials comparing TFCBT delivered within 3 months of trauma, to alternative interventions. All included studies were critically appraised using a standardised checklist. Two independent reviewers selected studies for inclusion and assessed study quality. Data extraction was performed by one reviewer and controlled by another. Where appropriate, we entered study results into meta-analyses. Results Seven articles reporting the results of five RCTs were included. All compared TFCBT to supportive counselling (SC). The study population was patients with acute stress disorder (ASD) in four trials, and with a PTSD diagnosis disregarding the duration criterion in the fifth trial. The overall relative risk (RR) for a PTSD diagnosis was 0.56 (95% CI 0.42 to 0.76), 1.09 (95% CI 0.46 to 2.61) and 0.73 (95% CI 0.51 to 1.04) at 3–6 months, 9 months and 3–4 years post treatment, respectively. A subgroup analysis of the four ASD studies only resulted in RR = 0.36 (95% CI 0.17 to 0.78) for PTSD at 3–6 months. Anxiety and depression scores were generally lower in the TFCBT groups than in the SC groups. Conclusion There is evidence for the effectiveness of TFCBT compared to SC in preventing chronic PTSD in patients with an initial ASD diagnosis. As this evidence originates from one research team replications are necessary to assess generalisability. The evidence about the effectiveness of TFCBT in traumatised populations without an ASD diagnosis is insufficient

Family structure and posttraumatic stress reactions: a longitudinal study using multilevel analyses

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is limited research on the relevance of family structures to the development and maintenance of posttraumatic stress following disasters. We longitudinally studied the effects of marital and parental statuses on posttraumatic stress reactions after the 2004 Southeast Asian tsunami and whether persons in the same households had more shared stress reactions than others.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>The study included a tourist population of 641 Norwegian adult citizens, many of them from families with children. We measured posttraumatic stress symptoms with the Impact of Event Scale-Revised at 6 months and 2 years post-disaster. Analyses included multilevel methods with mixed effects models.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Results showed that neither marital nor parental status was significantly related to posttraumatic stress. At both assessments, adults living in the same household reported levels of posttraumatic stress that were more similar to one another than adults who were not living together. Between households, disaster experiences were closely related to the variance in posttraumatic stress symptom levels at both assessments. Within households, however, disaster experiences were less related to the variance in symptom level at 2 years than at 6 months.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results indicate that adult household members may influence one another's posttraumatic stress reactions as well as their interpretations of the disaster experiences over time. Our findings suggest that multilevel methods may provide important information about family processes after disasters.</p

Norge etter 22. juli

"At the time of this book’s publication, almost seven years have passed since the dramatic and brutal terror attacks at Norway’s Government Headquarters in Oslo and the island of Utøya on 22 July 2011. How have we coped during this time? Which values have been important? Have we managed to protect the ideals of democracy, openness and humanity? And not least: Who is this ""we"" that we are referring to? This scholarly anthology includes articles from researchers associated with the project NECORE (Negotiating Values: Collective Identities and Resilience after 22 July) and other researchers whose work is closely associated with the project. They give us insights, opinions and sharp perspectives on not just 22 July, but also about Norway today, about values, identities and resilience in Norwegian society in the wake of the terror attacks. An important backdrop for the book and the project is the assertion that, as the events themselves recede into the past, it is even more important to focus on what the terror events have led to and how we can learn from them. In a world where terrorism has become an all too common part of political reality, it is crucial that we understand how we ought to think about terror, and how we as a society encounter it.

Om Christian Gartner, død i Norge i 1716 og hans hagebok Horticultura, trykt i 1694

Intet resumé

Methoden der Auslese und Saatzucht hernieresistenter Pflanzen in B. oleracea

Fra Eucarpia 'Crucuferae 1979' Conference 1, 2 og 3. oktober 1079 i Wageningen, Nederland

Klumprotresistens i reddik og matnyttige Brassica-arter

Fra Institutt for grønnsakdyrking. Stensiltrykk nr. 54/72. NJFs Arbeidsgruppe for klumprot, 22/9-72

Psychosocial intervention models and outcomes after a terror disaster

On July 22, 2011 a car bomb blast in the government quarter in Oslo killed 8, injured 209 of 18 the 350 employees who were at work, and destroyed 1700 of the 3500 work places in the 19 ministries. Shortly afterwards the terrorist killed 69 adolescents and young adults and 20 injured another 110 of the 495 survivors at a summer camp on an island outside Oslo 21 organized by the Youth league of the ruling Labor party. 22 The paper describes the two disaster models that were applied in providing the preventive 23 and therapeutic psychosocial interventions: The company/organization model for the 24 governmental employees and a combined community and organization model for the 25 victims of the massacre and their families. 26 Some of the findings from the longitudinal research and outreach programs that were 27 conducted are reported