TÜBİTAK SOBAG Proje15.08.2009The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of various traumatic life events and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among adults living in Erzincan, Ankara and Kocaeli provinces in Turkey. The relationship of socio-demographic characteristics, type of traumatic event and its characteristics and personality traits with PTSD and Post Traumatic Growth (PTG) were also evaluated. The study was conducted with a sample of 1253 adults, from a stratified cluster sample provided by the Turkish Statistical Institute. The research instrument containing a sociodemographic information form, the Post Traumatic Diagnostic Scale, Post Traumatic Growth Inventory, Basic Personality Traits Inventory and Brief Symptom Checklist was administered to participants in their homes by trained interviewers. The results showed that 84%(n= 1055) of participants reported experiencing at least one traumatic event. Six hundred and seventy five (64%) of these were female and 389 (36%) were male. Compared to females, males reported accidents, physical violence, war experiences, being imprisoned and torture events more often. The rates of PTSD in the whole sample was 9.9%(n=124). Females had a significantly higher rate of PTSD (77.4%) as compared to males (%22.6). Furthermore, the prevalence of PTSD varied for different types of traumatic events. PTSD rates following human made/deliberate traumatic events (39.6%) and death/illness (24.9%) were higher than the rates following accidents (14.8%) and natural disasters (13.3%). After controlling for the effects of sociodemographic variables, low extraversion, high agreeableness and high neuroticism significantly predicted the severity of post traumatic stress reactions. From among the event related variables, the impact of the traumatic event and the degree of functional impairment due to the event, experiencing death/illness and human made/deliberate events rather than accidents amd natural disasters 15 and experiencing more traumatic events appeared as significant predictors of post traumatic stress reactions. For PTG, after controlling for the effects of sociodemographic variables, agreeableness, openness to experience and conscientiousness appeared as significant predictors. From among the event related variables, the impact of the traumatic event, the severity of post traumatic stress reactions, and experiencing human made/deliberate, death/illness and natural disasters rather than accidents were related to PTG. The findings of the study are discussed in the scope of the existing literature and suggestions for the planning of mental health services and trauma training programs are offered
