A Study of Posttraumatic Stress and Growth in Tsunami Relief Volunteers

Twenty female relief volunteers who had participated in the post-tsunami relief operations in the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu, India, under the aegis of nongovernmental organizations and charitable trusts were assessed for posttraumatic stress, posttraumatic growth, and dissociative experiences. They also responded to a set of questions in order to determine the direction (upward-downward) of their counterfactual thoughts. The observed data were subjected to a multivariate analysis of variance and multiple discriminant analysis to identify the key underlying dimensions. The main effects of amnesia, depersonalization, percentage of dissociation, and family type were highly significant. Discriminant coefficients suggested the importance of relating to others and proactive coping. They also suggested the importance of intrusion, avoidance, and appreciation of life.