HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS Psychiatric Bulletin Advances in Psychiatric Treatment All RCPsych Journals		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit an eLetter View responses Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Njenga, F. G. Articles by Davidson, J. R. T. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Njenga, F. G. Articles by Davidson, J. R. T.

Post-traumatic stress after terrorist attack: psychological reactions following the US embassy bombing in Nairobi

Naturalistic study

Department of Psychiatry, Upper Hill Medical Centre, Nairobi, Kenya

P. J. Nicholls, MD

Departments of Medicine and of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA

Caroline Nyamai, MBChB, MScPsych and Pius Kigamwa, MBChB, MMedPsych

Upper Hill Medical Centre, Nairobi, Kenya

Jonathan R. T. Davidson, MD

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA

Correspondence: Dr Jonathan R. T. Davidson, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA. Tel: +1 919 684 2880; fax: +1 919 684 8866; e-mail: jonathan.davidson{at}duke.edu

Declaration of interest None. Funding detailed in Acknowledgements.

Background Most studies of post-traumatic stress disorder following terrorist attacks are of small samples in industrialised nations and take place months or years after the incident.

Aims To describe reactions following the US embassy bombing in Nairobi and the characteristic features of and risk factors for post-traumatic stress symptoms in a large, non-Western sample soon after the attack.

Method A self-report questionnaire which assessed potential risk factors and identified symptoms matching DSM–IV criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder was answered by 2883 Kenyans, 1–3 months after the bombing.

Results Symptoms approximating to the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder occurred in 35%. Factors associated with post-traumatic stress included female gender, unmarried status, lack of college education, seeing the blast, injury, not recovering from injury, not confiding in a friend, bereavement and financial difficulty since the blast. Many other factors were not significant.

Conclusions Specific factors often cited to predict marked short-term post-traumatic stress were confirmed in this large, non-Western sample.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				R. E. Obilom and T. D. Thacher Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Following Ethnoreligious Conflict in Jos, Nigeria J Interpers Violence, August 1, 2008; 23(8): 1108 - 1119. [Abstract] [PDF]

eLetters: