You will consolidate information across the four peer-reviewed journal articles selected in Weeks 2 and 3 into an essay related to PTSD in women. To that end, your essay will contain a critique of the

You will consolidate information across the four peer-reviewed journal articles selected in Weeks 2 and 3 into an essay related to PTSD in women. To that end, your essay will contain a critique of the
Running head: PTSD IN WOMEN 0 PTSD in Women: An Evaluation of Research Tools Used by Researchers PTSD in Women: An Evaluation of Research Tools Used by Researchers PTSD is a type of disorder that develops in individuals who have had a shocking, dangerous or scary experience. Some researchers have conducted various studies into the effects, causes, and events of PTSD in women. These researchers have used different tools to perform their surveys and gather information which they use to derive different conclusions. This essay purposes to critically analyze two specific articles and evaluate the tools that the researchers in these articles have utilized to find information. The first article examined in this essay is a research article written by Liu, Jiang, & Wu (2017), which tries to identify the association which exists between PTSD symptoms and Social Support in ovarian cancer Patients living in China using multiple mediation models. The second article analyzed in this essay was written by Beyond Blue (2017) to investigate the understanding and treatment of PTSD among incarcerated indigenous women. In the first article written by Liu, Jiang, & Wu (2017), the researchers have used some tools to obtain the results of the research problem. The researchers have used convenience sampling to ensure that only the required participants are included in the research. The primary objective of the researchers was to analyze patients who have ovarian cancer. Therefore, only patients who have ovarian cancer were included in the sample. The researchers then used PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version, the Herth Hope Index, the Duke-UNC Functional Social Support survey Questionnaire and the Resilience Scale-14 as significant tools to conduct the inquiry. The PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version was used to assess the PTSD symptoms in the patients. In this case, each item was given a rating based on a five-point grid (5= extremely; 1= not at all), concerning how much the specific symptoms proved stubborn to the patient in the previous month. Under this tool, scores greater than or equal to 44 were assumed to portray the symptoms of PTSD. In the specific article, the patients were asked for their comments on their feelings and experience with the treatment process. The second tool used by the researchers was the Duke-UNC Social Support Survey to access whether the patients received social support. Using this tool, they were able to rate each item on a five-point Likert scale (5= as much as I would expect; 1= less than I would expect) Another tool used in the article was the Herth Hope Index to evaluate the hope of the patients using the Herth Hope Grid. In this case, a questionnaire with twelve items arranged on a four-point grid whereby four represented strongly agree and one represented strongly disagree was given to the patients to fill. After using the three tools to find information from the participants, the researchers used both descriptive and clinical analysis to evaluate the data obtained and found out that participants with stronger levels of resilience and hope often demonstrate a strengthening impact of social support received by the patients on the PTSD symptoms. Therefore efforts to eliminate the symptoms of PTSD from the patients should not only be focused on resilience and hope but also social support. In the second Research article, written by Beyond Blue (2017) the researcher mainly focused on four aspects of PTSD- suicide, trauma, culture, and transition to the community to analyze how people can improve on their understanding and treatment of PTSD among the indigenous women who are either jailed or held in custody. The researcher used three primary tools to conduct the review- Paper-based Structured Questionnaire, Qualitative interview, and clinical diagnostic interview. The questionnaire encompassed questions about custodial experiences, suicidal thoughts, suicidal actions, mental health service experiences, and demographics. Also, the researcher used a psychosis screening tool and some PTSD- linked measures like Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, Culturally-Specific trauma events questions, Growth and Empowerment Measure, Trauma Symptoms Checklist and Post-Traumatic Cognitions Inventory (PTCI). Apart from the questionnaire, the researcher also used clinical diagnostic interviews. In this case, the World Health Organization World Mental Health-CDI computer Assisted Personal Interview was used. This is a computer-based interview aid used to measure the prevalence, severity and the burden of PTSD disorders. This tool was used primarily for women who were screened as positive for psychosis in the article. The last tool used was the qualitative interviews, which were conducted on a subset of women who screened PTSD positive during the screening process to enable them to contribute their views about the impact of PTSD on their lives. According to the above research, PTSD is prevalent among indigenous women in custody. Also, the presence of this disorder among women in custody is linked to marked mental health problems reflected in a greater possibility of co-occurring mental illness, psychological distress and more suicidal thoughts and actions. This essay does not dispute that in the two articles discussed above, the researchers used the specific tools accordingly to achieve dependable results. However, in the first article written by Liu, Jiang, & Wu (2017), the researchers have only majored on the impacts of PTSD on the patients and have not advised the participants on self-test procedures and assessment instruments that could be used by the patients to know whether they might be suffering from PTSD disorders. This could be done by incorporating a life-events checklist (LEC) as a tool in the structured and semi-structured questionnaires administered. It is also apparent in the second article written by Beyond Blue (2017), that the researcher has only majored on the prevalence and impacts of PTSD in patients, but has ignored the ways by which patients may evaluate whether they have PTSD. In other words, the researcher has concentrated more on the screening process, rather than the assessment procedures for PTSD. Therefore, the researcher could come up with more useful results if they could also use Life-events Checklist to conduct assessments on the possibility of the participants who have PTSD before performing the screening process. Therefore, in both cases, in preparing the questionnaires, the Researchers were to include the Life-events checklist. If this is included, then the questionnaire would look as follows: The Questionnaire Survey Questionnaire Introduction Hello, how are you? Do you have some time to talk to me for about an hour? I would like to ask you some questions for a research project on PTSD that we are currently conducting. We would want to investigate how PTSD affects women. Your participation will be purely on voluntary basis and the information you will give us will be kept confidential. I will much appreciate your assistance in answering the questionnaire. I will ask you about your experiences, feelings and other issues that have affected your way of life, behaviours, and reactions. Do you have any questions for me? May I start the interview now? YES NO Have you or your friend (Loved one) witnessed or experienced a life stressing or threatening event that caused horror, helplessness or intense fear? If YES, please briefly describe the event in the space below: Do you or Your Friend (Loved one) re-experience the occurrence in at least the following ways? YES NO Frightening Dreams and distressing memories YES NO Flashbacks( Feeling as if the event were re-occurring) YES NO Intense emotional or physical distress when you are exposed to other events that remind you the occurrence Do you or your friend (Loved one) avoid being reminded of the event and feel numb compared to the way you behaved before the event occurred? YES NO Avoiding conversations, thoughts or feelings about it YES NO Avoiding places, people or activities which remind me of it YES NO Losing interest in important activities of my life YES NO Feeling disowned/ separated from other people YES NO Feeling my range of emotions have been restricted YES NO Feeling that My future has been deteriorated ( I do not expect to have children, get married, get a job or live a normal life) Are you or your friend (Loved One) troubled by two or more of the following? YES NO Outbursts of anger YES NO Difficulties I concentrating YES NO Problems sleeping YES NO Feeling uneasy YES NO An exaggerated startle response Most of the times, do you or your friend (Loved One) feel: YES NO Disinterested? YES NO Guilty? YES NO Worthless? During the past year, has alcohol or drug abuse: YES NO Resulted in your inability to fulfil your expectations at work, family or school? YES NO Placed you in a compromising situation like drunk driving? YES NO Made you arrested? YES NO Continued despite causing trouble for your children, loved ones or yourself? YES NO YES NO Add anything you would want to say about your experience, feelings, and way of life, family, friends or any other issue after the event that you have not been asked here in the space below: In Case you change your location from this village, how can we contact you? Name———————Address———————Telephone——Gender——————-Age————- Administration of the Survey I will use interviews in administering the above survey questionnaire. In this case, the interview will be qualitative. I will collect data from the participants through personal interactions, whereby I will ask questions in person and give the participants time to respond to one question before going to the next question. This will enable me to clarify the unclear and complicated questions for the respondents. It will also enable me to see the facial expressions and the reactions of the respondents when answering specific questions. References Beyond Blue. (2017). The Family Business: Improving the Understanding and Treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder among Incarcerated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women. Beyond Blue. This has to be a journal article only. Please replace. Liu, Z., Jiang, H., & Wu, H. (2017). Association Social Support and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms among Chinese Patients with Ovarian Cancer: A Multiple Mediation Model. PLoS ONE, 25(12), 1-16.
You will consolidate information across the four peer-reviewed journal articles selected in Weeks 2 and 3 into an essay related to PTSD in women. To that end, your essay will contain a critique of the
Running head: POST-TRAUMATIC DISORDER 0 Literature Review: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder among Women Literature Review: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder among Women Post-traumatic stress disorder is among the most prevalent psychological health disorders which have attracted an expansive scholarly study. This condition, often a sequel to stressful experiences, is popular among women who undergo or witness violence. Such cases have been extensively recorded in the Western literature. Abused women all over the world are subjects to post-traumatic violence just like those from the Western cultures although their experiences are less documented. The most popular types of violence that women are exposed to are related to sexual assault and partner-imposed violence. The main objective of this paper is to carry out a review of the measuring tools used by the researchers of two previous articles written on this subject. The paper will also propose a different measuring tool from the previous assignment and suggest some test items described in the same assignment which could be included in this measuring tool. Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder among Battered Women in Lebanon The research article ‘Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder among Battered Women in Lebanon’ was first published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence in May 2014. The main subject in this article is the violence generated by men against women which is popular in Lebanon (Khadra, Wehbe, Fiola, Skaff, & Nehmé, 2014). This type of violence mainly occurs among intimate partners and may often result to major psychological complications. The subject of women battering is however not much explored in the Lebanese cultures. The goals of this research were: (1) to examine the extent of the prevalence of the signs of PTSD amid the physically abused females (2) to determine whether the rates of the signs of post-traumatic disorder (PTSD) are dependent on the sociodemographic variables, and (3) to expose other risk factors that can lead to the growth of the PTSD signs (Khadra, Wehbe, Fiola, Skaff, & Nehmé, 2014). The measuring tools used in this research were majorly questionnaires. The physically abused women were first selected and later the research sample was identified. Only 95 percent met the criterion that was used for inclusion in the research as a respondent. 85 percent of the respondents were requested to complete a questionnaire (Khadra, Wehbe, Fiola, Skaff, & Nehmé, 2014). The test tools included in the questionnaire were varied depending on the variables they were testing. The first section was composed of sociodemographic questions which were meant to measure the rates of prevalence based on sociodemographic factors. The second section comprised of a bodily abuse scale obtained from the Composite Abuse Scale (CAS). This test item was meant to identify the frequency of PTSD amongst the females. The third section which was aimed at determining the other risk factors of PTSD was a PTSD checklist (Khadra, Wehbe, Fiola, Skaff, & Nehmé, 2014). A questionnaire in this research was the most appropriate as the test items included helped to meet all the objectives of the research stated. The questions set were very objective to meet the goals of the research. Ideally, some people tend to be so secretive about their marital issues. The use of questionnaires in this research helped the researchers to gain all the required information through the stipulated ethical and legal dictates. The confidentiality of the women’s’ identity was not breached. This is unlike in the cases where interviews are used as the major sources of information gathering. The respondents might not respond freely to the questions asked. Women tend to be very emotional on matters relating to violence especially when talking about traumatic experiences. Choosing questionnaires to collect the desired information was, therefore, a wise thought by the researchers. People are more likely to get emotional in live conversations than in written conversations. In this case, if face to face conversations had been used, there are very high chances that most of the women would have broken into tears hindering the completion of the interviews. This would have been both unhealthy and unfair to them. The research objectives would hardly be met. The use of questionnaires made it possible to collect large amounts of data from a large research sample within a short period of time. Almost all the women who had satisfied the selection criteria participated in the research. Information obtained using questionnaires can easily be used for comparisons among the participants. The data collected was also very accurate since it was recorded directly by the respondents. Sexual Assault and Identity Disruption: A Sociological Approach to Posttraumatic Stress The article ‘Sexual Assault and Identity Disruption: A Sociological Approach to Posttraumatic Stress’ was first published in 2017 in the American Sociological Association Journal. From this article, it is highly evident that sexual violence is still a major concern among women in the 21st century even after a series of legislations by the government authorities and the women rights organizations (Boyle, 2017). The research indicates that sexual harassment is a major source of the post-traumatic disorder among women. The research was aimed at determining the link between social life and PTSD resulting from sexual assault. The main measuring tool used in this research was online surveys conducted on both the female and trans-gender university students (Boyle, 2017). The respondents were from a certain public institution located in the southeastern of the United States of America. The identity of the institution was not disclosed. An estimate of 569 women and 15 transgender qualified for the online survey out of the 9,975 potential participants (Boyle, 2017). The individuals who qualified were screened for possible sexual harassment. This was facilitated by the use of the Sexual Experiences Survey tool which poses questions which are interactively particular about assault due to prostration, bodily force and coercion (Boyle, 2017). Those who marked a harassment past were requested to answer some harassment and after-harassment interrogations relative to their latest violence. The assaults identified included the mild ones such as coercive fondling and kissing and the severe ones such as anal or oral penetration. 28 percent of the respondents had already experienced this at the age of 14 (Boyle, 2017). Online surveys are the most appropriate measuring tools for college students. They are flexible, cheaper and the easiest for use by both the respondents and the researchers. By the use of online surveys, the researchers were able to adequately engage with their audience at limited costs. This online survey was also likely to provide more accurate information as the respondents were less fearful of their identity being disclosed. Most students usually have access to the internet and thus could easily participate in this research. If I were to design another measuring tool for my topic, I would settle for a questionnaire. This would add more value to my research topic as the questions in the questionnaires would be aimed at revealing more truths about the post-traumatic stress disorder among women. In this case, I would closely check my items to ensure that they are objective to the goals of the research. I would adequately consider the fact that my respondents are women and use less gender-biased language in framing my questions. Also, there is much likelihood that the respondents will cover a wide age bracket. To address this, I would use a simple language in order to address any misunderstandings that could occur as a result of a complex language use. Some of the test items described in the previous assignments could also be compatible with this new measuring tool. For instance, in order to identify the prevalence of PTSD among women, I would set a criteria for the signs to identify and satisfy PTSD. The participants would then be required to tick where appropriate. This would help categorize the respondents who do not meet the full criteria for PTSD. I would also paste the most appropriate questions from the Penne baker’s inventory of languidness (PILL) on the questionnaire. Such would also be accompanied by a scale ranging from 1-5. Adding these test items in the questionnaire would give more information about the respondents. Post-traumatic disorder is a psychological health disorder that can affect everyone in their daily lives. Causes of PTSD range from loss, anxiety and violence. Despite its severity, this condition is treatable. Possible treatments include medication and counseling with the latter being the most popular intervention. Anyone who has PTSD should find a well-trained professional counselor to treat him/her. One should not decide to suffer in silence as this might have some serious health implications. The side effects attached to this condition can undoubtedly outweigh the gains presumed by the patient. . References Boyle, K. M. (2017). Sexual Assault and Identity Disruption: A Sociological Approach to Posttraumatic Stress. American Sociological Association, 7(2), 69-84. Khadra, C., Wehbe, N., Fiola, J. L., Skaff, W., & Nehmé, M. (2014). Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Among Battered Women in Lebanon. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 30(2), 295-313.