Exposure to traumatic events and symptoms of post-traumatic stress among South African university students

Abstract

We investigated the lifetime exposure to traumatic events and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety among 1337 students at a large residential university in South Africa. Traumatic events were assessed using the Stressful Life Events Scaling Questionnaire, and the symptoms of post-traumatic stress, depression, and anxiety were measured using the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Scale–Self Report Version, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Beck Anxiety Inventory, respectively. The sample consisted of females ( n = 857) and males ( n = 480). Approximately 90% of the sample reported at least one traumatic event in their lifetime, and male and female students reported similar levels of exposure to traumatic events. With regard to symptoms of post-traumatic stress, those students who had experienced a traumatic event reported more severe post-traumatic stress symptoms than those students who had not. Significant correlations were found among symptoms of post-traumatic stress, depression, and anxiety. The significant predictors of the severity of post-traumatic stress symptoms were gender, Black race, Coloured race, and year of study. The significant predictors of the frequency of traumatic events were gender, age, Black race, Coloured race, and private residence. These results are compared with South African trauma-related studies as well as findings from other countries.