GC-TS Newsletter 2 - September 2021 |
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Word from the chairs This is the second newsletter from the Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress. Speaking of traumatic stress: It has not been uneventful around the world this past summer or winter (depending on where you are). The COVID-19 pandemic is not yet over at all in some parts of the world, the recent events in Afghanistan and the new refugee populations resulting from it, the consequences of climate change with both extreme heat and bush fires and storms and floods in other places, not to speak of individual, less visible trauma. It is even more important that we work together on these important topics, that we understand the development of symptoms across cultures, and that in the end our activities will benefit trauma survivors around the world. We are pleased to share with you the most recent developments. Please visit our website to read more about the work of all involved around the world. Miranda Olff - Chair Ulrich Schnyder - Co-chair Follow us on Twitter: @Global_Trauma |
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Assessment of trauma and its consequences Assessment of traumatic experiences and the potential mental health impact may differ around the world. We therefore need instruments that are culturally sensitive and available in local languages. Researchers and clinicians with expertise in this area to work together on developing cross-culturally sensitive and valid instruments in the field of psychotrauma. Within the theme: Assessment of trauma and its consequences we currently have the GPS and CARTS (see also below). Please contact us (m.olff@amc.nl) if you are working in this area and would like to contribute. |
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Childhood Attachment and Relational Trauma Screen (CARTS) Childhood maltreatment is an unfortunately common occurrence. The World Health Organization reports that nearly 3 in every 4 children experience physical punishment and psychological violence from caregivers in the early years of life and nearly one in every five girls and one in every 13 boys are sexually abused the world over. Childhood abuse and neglect are widely known to be serious risk factors for mental and physical health problems throughout lifetime.
These startling statistics draw our attention to the need for routine assessment of childhood maltreatment histories as a potential cause of PTSD and related outcomes in both children and adults, a commitment the Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress took upon itself from its inauguration with the CARTS project. The CARTS project is an effort to translate and validate the CARTS in multiple languages...
>> Read more |
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The GPS in Clinical Practice In clinical practice in Chile the Global Psychotrauma Screen (GPS) is being used to screen for mental health symptoms after trauma. It offers a valuable quick screening tool to check for PTSD symptoms, but also gives us a first impression on whether we need to attend to other types of symptoms in follow up diagnosis and treatment, such as depression, anxiety, insomnia, addiction problems, dissociation, or other problems. Additionally it helps the clinician to pay attention to the resources and skills that exist or we can develop in every patient, such as increasing social support or resilience. Some patients' comments are: “I found that I have a lot of the symptoms the GPS mentions, and I did not like having so many, deep down, I have discovered that I have many symptoms I never paid attention to”… >> Read more in our blog, also available in Spanish |
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FAIR Data The FAIR Data Theme workgroup is engaged in several projects to help traumatic stress researchers find, share, and use data resources to promote better science and ultimately benefit trauma-exposed people around the world. Read more in a recent ISTSS StressPoints article. We need to hear from you: Tell us about your data - Check out the new index of FAIR traumatic stress datasets on the GC-TS website. Let us know about your datasets so we can add them to the index. Listing your datasets here helps your work have greater impact. Take the GC-TS international survey - The survey will provide the first global snapshot of our field’s practices and opinions regarding data sharing and re-use. Please also share the link with others in your network. The survey is open to all researchers and trainees and is available in 7 languages. Questions? Want to get involved in the FAIR Data workgroup? >> Contact Nancy Kassam-Adams: adamsn@chop.edu. |
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Impact of Child Maltreatment on Preferred Interpersonal Distance Taking a suitable interpersonal distance (IPD) is an important social skill that might be affected by early adverse experiences. In research, preferred IPD can be measured in several ways. One of the gold-standards is to use tape measure between two people where one of them approaches the other until she/ he starts feeling uncomfortable with the distance between them (“stop-distance-method”). During the past months, we have integrated a digitalized version of the stop-distance method into an online survey to assess whether child maltreatment is related to preferred IPD across cultures. The survey is accessible between September and December 2021 >> Read more |
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The International Study of Parenting Norms Social norms vary across countries and cultures, influencing what is considered childhood maltreatment in a specific context. The International Study of Parenting Norms aims to investigate the cross-cultural variations in what constitutes child maltreatment, the impact of parenting behaviors on mental health, and the culture-specific protective factors increasing resilience in maltreated populations. In the last months we have launched a pilot study involving data collection in Cameroon, Canada, Germany, and Japan. Currently, a grant application is being prepared for a larger scale study that will involve countries from every region of the world. Over a dozen researchers are already involved.
Interested in being involved?
>> Contact Eleonora Bartoli (bartoli@psych.uni-frankfurt.de) |
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The COVID-19 Psychological Research Consortium (C19PRC) Study
As part of Theme ‘Global Crises’ covering “Global COVID-19-Related Traumatic Stress Activities” the C19PRC Study aims to assess and monitor the psychological, social, political, and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the general population, using longitudinal surveys and mixed-methods studies in multiple countries (UK, Ireland, Spain, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Italy).
The UK strand of the study collected a nationally representative baseline sample of N=2025 adults in March 2020 and is currently conducting its fifth follow-up survey (Wave 6, August 2021). For more information and details of all research outputs, visit the C19PRC website. Waves 1-3 of the Study are available here. >> Read more or contact Sarah Butter (s.butter@sheffield.ac.uk) |
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A new online index of FAIR traumatic stress datasets on the GC-TS website will help researchers share information about their datasets, find data resources that can be used to answer new questions, and forge new collaborations. Looking for data? Find them here | | |
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14-18 Sept 2021 Virtual Conference |
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From the Korean Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (KSTSS) Hate crimes against Asians are increasing globally. KSTSS, expressing condolences to the victims of the hate crimes against Asians, issued a statement of consolation and support for the survivors. First, the hate crimes against Asians should be thoroughly investigated, and the victims must be proactively protected and supported. Second, aggressive promotion, education, and management framework of preventing hate and repugnance against all races including Asians must be developed. Third, comprehensive research on hate crimes against Asians must be pursued. Details can be found on the KSTSS website |
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Latest publications - Cross-Cultural responses to COVID-19 versus other traumatic events (GPS-CCC): New network analyses publication
The COVID-19 pandemic represents a unique stressor given its global and ongoing nature. In this study, participants from 86 countries reported on mental health symptoms tied to a difficult or frightening event that was either related or unrelated to the pandemic. Results suggest that many people across the globe have experienced potentially traumatic events related to the pandemic, producing symptoms of anxiety, depression, and PTSD. These symptoms are highly connected (i.e., experiencing one symptom influences the likelihood of experiencing other symptoms), and resemble those stemming from non-pandemic related stressors. In addition, findings suggest that depression plays a prominent role in psychological reactions to stressful events and changes to this symptom may have a substantial impact on trauma-related distress. Williamson, R. E., Hoeboer, C., Primasari, I., Qing, Y., Coimbra, B., Hovnanyan, A., Grace, E., & Olff, M. (in press). Symptom Networks of COVID-19-Related Versus Other Potentially Traumatic Events in a Global Sample. Journal of Anxiety Disorders. - Oe, M. (2021) Establishment and Development of the Global Collaboration Project. Japanese Journal of Traumatic Stress, 19 (1), 69-76. (in Japanese)
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