CITATION: Stewart, J. & Swartz, L. 2005. Posttraumatic stress symptoms in emergency service ambulance personnel. Social Work, 41(4):362-377, doi:10.15270/41-4-316.The original publication is available at http://socialwork.journals.ac.zaA diversity of research has demonstrated that, although all people will present with a reaction after a traumatic incident, only a minority will develop posttraumatic stress disorder PTSD (Allan, La Grange, Niehaus, Scheurkogel & Stein, 1998). A complex interaction of multiple pre- and post-trauma factors determines the response. Numerous studies have attempted to assess variables that make an individual more susceptible to developing PTSD. A number of factors were investigated including genetic (Eisen, Goldberg, Heath, Lyons, Nowak & Rise, 1993), family history (Breslau, Davis, Andreski & Peterson, 1991), individual personality (Schurr, Friedman & Rosenberg, 1993), past history of trauma (Zaidi & Foy, 1994) and life events (McFarlane, 1989). A number of studies have identified posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as an important issue in various South African groups (Kaminer, Seedat, Lockhat & Stein 2000; Marais, De Villiers, Möller & Stein, 1999).http://socialwork.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/316Publisher's versio
