IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i2p619-d718730.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in People with Visual Impairment Compared with the General Population

Author

Listed:
  • Tore Bonsaksen

    (Department of Health and Nursing Science, Faculty of Social and Health Studies, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, 2418 Elverum, Norway
    Department of Health, Faculty of Health Studies, VID Specialized University, 4306 Sandnes, Norway)

  • Audun Brunes

    (Section for Trauma, Catastrophes and Forced Migration-Adults and Elderly, Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies, 0484 Oslo, Norway)

  • Trond Heir

    (Section for Trauma, Catastrophes and Forced Migration-Adults and Elderly, Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies, 0484 Oslo, Norway
    Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, 0372 Oslo, Norway)

Abstract

Background: People with a visual impairment appear to have an increased risk of experiencing potentially traumatizing life events and possibly also subsequently developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study investigated the point prevalence of PTSD in people with a visual impairment compared with the general population of Norway and examined factors associated with PTSD among people with a visual impairment. Methods: A telephone-based survey was administered to a probability sample of 1216 adults with a visual impairment. Of these, 736 (61% response rate) participated. A probability sample from the general population served as a reference ( n = 1792, 36% response rate). PTSD was measured with the PTSD Checklist for the DSM-5 (PCL-5), based on the currently most bothersome event reported from the Life Events Checklist for DSM-5 (LEC-5). We used the DSM-5 diagnostic guidelines to categorize participants as fulfilling the PTSD symptom criteria or not. Results: The prevalence of PTSD was higher among people with a visual impairment than in the general population, both for men (9.0% vs. 3.8%) and women (13.9% vs. 8.5%). The prevalence rates of PTSD from the illness or injury that had caused the vision loss (men 3.9%, women 2.2%) accounted for a considerable part of the difference between the populations. For women, PTSD related to sexual assaults also contributed significantly to a higher PTSD prevalence in the visually impaired versus the general population (5.2% vs. 2.2%), while for men there were no other event categories which resulted in significant differences. Among people with a visual impairment, the higher risk of PTSD was associated with lower age, female gender, having acquired the vision loss, and having other impairments in addition to the vision loss. Conclusion: The higher prevalence of PTSD in people with a visual impairment suggests that vulnerability to mental health problems is associated with serious life events. The higher incidence than in the general population is partly due to the illness or injury that had led to the vision loss and partly due to people with vision loss appearing to be more vulnerable through exposure to other types of potentially traumatizing events, such as sexual abuse.

Suggested Citation

  • Tore Bonsaksen & Audun Brunes & Trond Heir, 2022. "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in People with Visual Impairment Compared with the General Population," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(2), pages 1-11, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:2:p:619-:d:718730
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/2/619/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/2/619/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tore Bonsaksen & Trond Heir & Inger Schou-Bredal & Øivind Ekeberg & Laila Skogstad & Tine K. Grimholt, 2020. "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Associated Factors during the Early Stage of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Norway," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(24), pages 1-9, December.
    2. Audun Brunes & Trond Heir, 2021. "Serious Life Events in People with Visual Impairment Versus the General Population," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-9, November.
    3. Jeroen Knipscheer & Marieke Sleijpen & Laurence Frank & Ron de Graaf & Rolf Kleber & Margreet ten Have & Michel Dückers, 2020. "Prevalence of Potentially Traumatic Events, Other Life Events and Subsequent Reactions Indicative for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in the Netherlands: A General Population Study Based on the Trauma S," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-15, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gunnar Einvik & Toril Dammen & Waleed Ghanima & Trond Heir & Knut Stavem, 2021. "Prevalence and Risk Factors for Post-Traumatic Stress in Hospitalized and Non-Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-12, February.
    2. Lennart Reifels & Michel L. A. Dückers, 2023. "Disaster Mental Health Risk Reduction: Appraising Disaster Mental Health Research as If Risk Mattered," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(11), pages 1-14, May.
    3. Amy K. Østertun Geirdal & Daicia Price & Mariyana Schoultz & Hilde Thygesen & Mary Ruffolo & Janni Leung & Tore Bonsaksen, 2021. "The Significance of Demographic Variables on Psychosocial Health from the Early Stage and Nine Months after the COVID-19 Pandemic Outbreak. A Cross-National Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-18, April.
    4. Tore Bonsaksen & Mariyana Schoultz & Hilde Thygesen & Mary Ruffolo & Daicia Price & Janni Leung & Amy Østertun Geirdal, 2021. "Loneliness and Its Associated Factors Nine Months after the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Cross-National Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-11, March.
    5. Laila Skogstad & Inger Schou-Bredal & Tore Bonsaksen & Trond Heir & Øivind Ekeberg & Tine Grimholt, 2021. "Concerns Related to the COVID-19 in Adult Norwegians during the First Outbreak in 2020: A Qualitative Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-14, April.
    6. Sunah Kim & Go-Un Kim & Suin Park, 2020. "Prevalence of Traumatic Experiences in South Korean Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-12, June.
    7. Tore Bonsaksen & Laila Skogstad & Trond Heir & Øivind Ekeberg & Inger Schou-Bredal & Tine K. Grimholt, 2021. "Suicide Thoughts and Attempts in the Norwegian General Population during the Early Stage of the COVID-19 Outbreak," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-9, April.
    8. Siv Karlsson Stafseth & Laila Skogstad & Johan Ræder & Ingvild Strand Hovland & Haakon Hovde & Øivind Ekeberg & Irene Lie, 2022. "Symptoms of Anxiety, Depression, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Health Care Personnel in Norwegian ICUs during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic, a Prospective, Observational Cross-Sectio," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-15, June.
    9. José Luis Carballo & Ainhoa Coloma-Carmona & Sara Arteseros-Bañón & Virtudes Pérez-Jover, 2021. "The Moderating Role of Caregiving on Fear of COVID-19 and Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-11, June.
    10. Joy Benatov & Dominika Ochnik & Aleksandra M. Rogowska & Ana Arzenšek & Urša Mars Bitenc, 2022. "Prevalence and Sociodemographic Predictors of Mental Health in a Representative Sample of Young Adults from Germany, Israel, Poland, and Slovenia: A Longitudinal Study during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-18, January.
    11. Yvonne Schaffler & Martin Kuska & Antonia Barke & Bettina K. Doering & Katharina Gossmann & Zdenek Meier & Natalia Kascakova & Peter Tavel & Elke Humer & Christoph Pieh & Peter Stippl & Wolfgang Schim, 2022. "Psychotherapists’ Reports regarding the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Their Patients: A Cross-National Descriptive Study Based on the Social-Ecological Model (SEM)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-19, June.
    12. Inger Schou-Bredal & Laila Skogstad & Tine K. Grimholt & Tore Bonsaksen & Øivind Ekeberg & Trond Heir, 2021. "Concerns in the Norwegian Population during the Initial Lockdown Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-9, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:2:p:619-:d:718730. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.