Table 1.
Study details of included articles.
| Author | Study design | Location of study | Type of event studied | Sample population and size | Tool applied | Prevalence/magnitude of PTSD or PTSS | Methodological score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abuse | |||||||
| Bhaskaran et al. (25) | Case study analysis | Tamil Nadu | Sexual abuse | 2 children, aged 2 and 3 | Not specified | PTSD symptoms of avoidance, intrusion and alteration in arousal found in both case studies (100%) | 0.68 |
| Bhaskaran et al. (26) | Health assessment | Karnataka | Sexual abuse | 40 children and adolescents | Children’s Global Assessment Scale. Administered by: not specified. Time after trauma: not specified. | 20% PTSD, 35% depressive disorder, 17.5% adjustment disorder, 12.5% dissociative disorder | 0.9 |
| Tichy et al. (27) | Health assessment | Tamil Nadu | Domestic abuse | 64 women | Post-traumatic stress diagnostic scale. Self-reported. Time administered after event is not specified. | 37% of participants suffered from chronic PTSD, while 25% suffered from acute PTSD (or had indications of clinically significant PTSD). Another 22% were indicated to have clinically significant acute stress disorder. Duration of PTSD symptoms was solely predicted by the belief that domestic abuse was a societal problem. Distress was predicted by one’s ability to correctly recognize one’s own experience as abuse. | 0.91 |
| Exposure to violence | |||||||
| Bhatia et al. (28) | Prevalence study | Delhi | Stampede | 32 adolescent girls | Child’s reaction to traumatic events scale-revised (CRTES-Revised). A score of 28 or higher is recommended for a PTSD diagnosis. Administered directly after, then at 8 weeks, then at 6 months. Administered by psychiatrists. | 22 children had symptoms of PTSD, 5 had moderate distress. 11 comorbid depressive disorder, 6 comorbid phobic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. Two developed full-blown PTSD after 6 weeks. There was a significant decrease in CRTSEQ-R scores after 6 months. | 0.75 |
| Cheng et al. (29) | Health assessment | New Delhi | Vulnerable environments | 500 vulnerable adolescents aged between 15 and 19 years old | Six items of the PTSD Checklist-civilian version. A score of 13 or higher indicated PTSD. Administered by: not specified. Time after trauma: not specified. | Of all the study sights, new Delhi had one of the lowest scores of PTSD, with a prevalence of 16.3%. Lowest percentage of depression and suicidal thoughts was also found in Delhi at 13% and some 13.9%, respectively. Mental health problems seem to be significantly associated with family support and neighborhood connection. | 0.86 |
| Raju (30) | Case study analysis | Maharashtra | Witness to violence | 1 adult male witness to violence | Psychiatric evaluation/not specified. Administered by trained psychiatrist, 35 years after event. | not applicable | 0.81 |
| Man-made accidents | |||||||
| Kulkarni et al. (31) | Prevalence study | Maharashtra | Man-made accident | 47 relatives of patients in ICU | Impact of events scale-revised, administered between 48h and 72h after event. Administered by medical students. | Post-traumatic stress response identified in 23% (n = 11) of Indian respondents. Median IES total score = 24 (total score of above 30 used to identify relatives with significant PTSS) | 0.86 |
| Seethalakshmi et al. (32) | Health assessment | Maharashtra | Motor vehicle accident | 30 patient vehicle crash victims | Impact of Events Scale, where a score greater than 26 indicates presence of PTSD symptoms, and a score higher than 40 indicates PTSD. Assessed by qualified psychiatrists 1–6 months after incident. | 30% (n = 9) exhibited PTSD symptoms, while 20% (n = 6) had scores higher than 40, suggesting PTSD. Female gender was associated with higher IES scores. There was a significant correlation between negative emotions and other symptoms, except for avoidance. High prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms found (57%). | 0.86 |
| Sethi and Bhargava (33) | Health assessment | Haryana | Suicide | 24 children aged between 6 and 16 with a family member who committed suicide | Childhood post-traumatic stress reaction index (CPTSRI). Not specified who administered. Administered 6–24 months after the event. | 21% (n = 5) children met the criteria for PTSD (2 male and 3 female). Almost half of the children met the criteria for major depressive disorder. All 3 children who discovered the body of the victim had PTSD and major depressive disorder. 0.04% panic disorder, 0.13% conduct disorder | 0.75 |
| Medical condition | |||||||
| Kumar et al. (34) | Prevalence study | Karnataka | Medical condition | 152 postpartum mothers | Mini international neuropsychiatry interview schedule administered within 3–8 days of event. | No PTSD found. 26% depressive disorder. Others included: obsessive harm to child, social phobia, and panic disorder | 0.85 |
| Margoob et al. (35) | Health assessment | Jammu and Kashmir | Medical operation | 8 men and 8 women accidental or therapeutic amputees | Clinical administered PTSD scale (CAPS). Administered by: psychiatrist. Duration after: not specified. | 80% (N = 10) individuals who lost their limb in a traumatic accident met criteria for PTSD. two had elevated scores on CAPS but did not meet the threshold. PTSD cluster symptoms were related to the traumatic events which lead to the loss of the body part. 16.7% (n = 1 out of 6) met criteria for PTSD of those who had undergone therapeutic surgical amputation. | 0.5 |
| Mohanti and Kaur (36) | Prevalence study | Delhi | Medical condition | 31 adult cancer survivors | Mini international neuropsychiatry interview schedule administered by physicians. Duration after not specified. | Social anxiety and PTSD was elicited in 19% of the patients (no differentiation between the two). 13% reported depression. | 0.6 |
| Prashanth et al. (37) | Health assessment | Karnataka | Physical injury | 378 patients suffering facial and non-facial injuries | Impact of events scale, with a score of 35 and above being a probable PTSD diagnosis. Tested at date of discharge, 1st month and 6th month post-operative. | Patients with facial disfiguring injuries scored significantly higher on IES and HADS compared to extremity injury and non-disfiguring facial injury. Actual PTSD prevalence not provided | 0.82 |
| Prashanth et al. (38) | Health assessment | Karnataka | Physical injury | 460 patients suffering facial and non-facial injuries | Impact of events scale, with a score of 35 and above being a probable PTSD diagnosis. Tested at date of discharge, 1st month and 6th month post-operative. | Patients with facial disfiguring injuries scored significantly higher on IES compared to non-disfiguring facial injury, and in addition, female patients were more likely to get PTSD | 0.96 |
| Srivastava et al. (39) | Health assessment | Maharashtra | Medical condition | 50 male amputees | Trauma symptom inventory: 100 item test of post-traumatic stress and other psychological disorders. T scores higher than 65 are considered significant. Cut off is taken at 70 for validity indicators. Administered by psychiatrist. | Only marginal elevation is noted on scales of defensive avoidance, dissociation, intrusive experiences and depression. | 0.68 |
| Tavane et al. (40) | Tool development | Karnataka | Medical condition | 96 adult patients suffering facial trauma | Kannada Version of Impact of Events Scale | The kannada version of the IES had satisfactory reliability, internal validity, and test-retest reliability | 0.89 |
| Natural disasters | |||||||
| Becker (41) | Intervention study | Tamil Nadu | Tsunami | 100 women | Impact of event scale. Time after trauma: 2 years. | At baseline: 32% reported severe symptoms. Post intervention: 22% reported moderate symptoms | 0.61 |
| Bhushan and Kumar (42) | Health assessment | Tamil Nadu | Tsunami | 130 tsunami adolescent victims ranging between 10 and 16 years old | Impact of event scale administered 1 year after the tsunami as well as the children’s revised impact of events scale, version 13 (CRIES-13). | Children scored high on post-traumatic stress. Intrusion was significantly correlated with avoidance. Both were significantly correlated with total IES score. Female gender correlated with a high IES score. Family type played a significant role in IES impact, proving the positive effect of family support system. | 0.75 |
| Bhushan and Kumar (43) | Health assessment | Tamil Nadu | Tsunami | 20 adult relief workers | Impact of event scale. Administered 4 years after event. Cutoff values: not specified | 50% of the relief workers scored above the mean total trauma score. 40% scored above the mean intrusion and avoidance scores. Total post traumatic growth and proactive coping scores of 60% were above the respective mean scores. | 0.87 |
| Chadda et al. (44) | Prevalence study | Jammu, Kashmir | Earthquake | 450 community members | ICD-10 criteria clinical assessment carried out by a psychiatrist. Administered 5 weeks after the event. | 3.3% (n = 10) were diagnosed with PTSD. Though PTSD-like symptoms were reported by more than 2/3rds of the patients. Adjustment disorders, other stress disorders and depressive episodes were the most common psychiatric illnesses diagnosed (at more than 80%). 39.6% Adjustment disorder. 22.6% depressive disorder | 0.64 |
| Crabtree (21) | Health assessment | Bihar | Floods | community | Semi-structured interview with questions relating to PTSD. 18 months post flood. Administered by: not specified. | 18 months post flood gave onset to symptoms related to PTSD (primarily re-experiencing). | 0.6 |
| Descilo et al. (45) | Intervention study | Tamil Nadu | Tsunami | 183 adult tsunami survivors | PTSD Check List (PCL-17). Administered 8 months after the tsunami. Cutoff value 50. Administered by: not specified. First administered 8 months after disaster. | Of the 350 subjects recruited, 240 (68%) met the inclusion criteria for PTSD. Effects of intervention were significant after 6 weeks. | 0.76 |
| Exenberger et al. (46) | Prevalence study | Tamil Nadu | Tsunami | 177 children | Children’s revised impact of event scale-8 (CRIES-8) Measure symptoms of intrusion and avoidance. Administered by trained university students, 4 years after the event. | CRIES-8: children had more avoidance symptoms than intrusion. Only one child scored above the cutoff for a PTSD diagnosis. There was an association between post-traumatic growth with post-traumatic stress symptoms and age. | 0.77 |
| Jeyanth and Jawahar (47) | Intervention study | Tamil Nadu | Tsunami | not specified | not specified | not specified | N/A |
| Baddam John et al. (48) | Prevalence study | Tamil Nadu | Tsunami | 523 children and adolescents | Child behaviour check-list post-traumatic stress disorder scale Tamil revised (CBCL-PTSD-TR). Post graduate students performed the assessment after a 5-day training. Administered 2 and 5 months after tsunami | 65% experienced loss of property, while 9% loss of life, and 2.2% loss of both. At 2 months: 70.7% (n = 355) had PTSD with a mean IES score of 26. PTSD higher in girls than boys (75.9% girls, 62.8% boys), and higher in older age groups. At 6 months: 55 of the 147 participants who were free of PTSD during 1st assessment had developed PTSD—indicating delayed onset. Overall prevalence is 81.6% | 0.85 |
| Kar and Bastia (49) | Prevalence study | Orissa | Cyclone | 108 secondary school adolescents | Mini international neuropsychiatry interview schedule for children and adolescents (MINI-KID). Administered by a clinical psychiatrist, 14 months after cyclone. | 26.9% PTSD, 17.6% major depressive disorder, and 12% generalized anxiety disorder. 37.9% of sample population had some kind of diagnosis. Comorbidity was found in 39% of adolescents with a psychiatric diagnosis. Adolescents from middle socio economic status were affected the most. | 0.59 |
| Kar et al. (50) | Prevalence study | Tamil Nadu | Tsunami | 353 directly exposed and 313 indirectly exposed adults | Self-rating scale for PTSD: 17 item scale which corresponds closely to DSM-III criteria. Conducted by college students, 4 years after the event. | SRQ positive: 84.4%, 70% and 77.6% in direct, indirect and total respectively. PTSD prevalence of 72%, 69.6% and 70.9% in direct, indirect and total, respectively. Depression 33.6%, anxiety 23.1%, co morbidity 44.7% | 0.96 |
| Math et al. (51) | Prevalence study | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | Tsunami | 12,784 displaced and non-displaced tsunami survivors | ICD-10 criteria clinical assessment by trained psychiatrist within the first 3 months following the disaster | Of the 475 survivors who had at least one psychiatric diagnosis, 53 had a diagnosis of PTSD (11.2%). No significant difference between displaced and non-displaced groups. 0.4% prevalence in total. Depression 21.5%, panic disorder 12%, anxiety disorder 5.5% | 0.85 |
| Math et al. (52) | Health assessment | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | Tsunami | 535 primary, secondary and tertiary child and adolescent survivors | ICD-10 criteria clinical assessment by trained psychiatrist. During first 3 months. | PTSD diagnosed in 10.8% (n = 4) primary and secondary survivors. Adjustment disorder 13.5%, depression 13.5%, panic disorder 10.8%, schizophrenia 1% | 0.4 |
| Pyari et al. (53) | Risk assessment | Tamil Nadu | Tsunami | 485 tsunami community survivors | Impact of events scale-revised. 6 months after the disaster. Trained interviewers administered the scales. | Prevalence not investigated. But odds ratio for risk of PTSD indicated that women were 6.35 times more likely to get PTSD than men. Other risk factors include: older age, living in area of highest destruction, death of close relatives, injury to self or family. A lower standard of living correlated with a higher risk of PTSD. Protective mechanisms against PTSD were satisfaction of services received, frequency of counselling received (3x or higher), and absence of fear of reoccurrence | 1 |
| Rajkumar et al. (5) | Health assessment | Tamil Nadu | Tsunami | 567 tsunami community survivors | Impact of events scale-revised and Complicated Grief Assessment scale (CGA) which assesses the traumatic grief reactions within the previous month. Administered 9 months after disaster, by a team of psychiatrists and trained medical staff. | 15.1% of respondents were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress symptoms. Participants scored significantly less on the avoidance subscale when compared to the hyperarousal or intrusion subscale. Those with or without PTSS did not differ significantly on functional impairment as was defined by their inability to return to their pre-disaster occupation. Risk factors for PTSS include: presence of traumatic grief, death of children, psychical injury, female gender, men handling corpses during relief work, and reporting more financial losses. Adequate financial aid significantly protected against PTSS. | 0.96 |
| Rajkumar et al. (54) | Health assessment | Tamil Nadu | Tsunami | 643 tsunami community survivors | Impact of events scale-revised used to diagnose PTSS and PGD. Administered 9 months following disaster, by a team of psychiatrists and trained medical staff. | 23.2% (n = 149) diagnosed with PGD, PTSS or both. 34.5% of bereaved survivors diagnosed with PGD, PTSS or both. Prevalence of PTSS without PGD was 8.1%, and 8.8% in bereaved survivors. | 1 |
| Roy (55) | Health assessment | Tamil Nadu | Tsunami | Tsunami community survivors | Disaster-related questionnaire (not specified) administered by two hospital paramedics. Time after event not specified. | 17% of patients found to exhibit PTSD symptoms (panic attacks, nightmares, insomnia, fear of water, being startled by loud sounds, and palpitations). | 0.32 |
| Roy et al. (56) | Health assessment | Gujarat | Earthquake | 133 rural displaced victims | A validated 6-item General Health questionnaire administered by one community health worker (items were: repeated images, nightmares, easily startled, anxiety and discomfort, persistent sadness). 2 yearts after earth quake. | PTSD was marked 3–6 months after the event, but was minimal 2 years after the earthquake. Sadness about the event was the only residual PTSD symptom (84%). | 0.55 |
| Suar et al. (57) | Health assessment | Orissa | Cyclone | 65 affected people | Clinical assessment. Administered by a trained psychologist 3 months post disaster. | 89% (n = 58) of affected persons found to have PTSD, compared to 11% (n = 7) in the unaffected controls. Assessment was made after 3 months following the disaster. | 0.73 |
| Suar et al. (58) | Health assessment | Tamil Nadu | Tsunami | 416 tsunami survivors | Clinical interview using DSM-IV, administered 14 months after the event by trained university undergraduates | Not specified, however results indicate that indirect effects of tsunami exposure on trauma via the loss of resources were a more potent predictor than the direct effects of exposure on trauma | 0.96 |
| Telles et al. (59) | Risk assessment | Bihar | Floods | 1,289 people directly exposed flood victims | Screening Questionnaire for Disaster Mental Health (SQD), administered 1 month after the disaster. Not specified who administered them. | PTSD prevalence not stated clearly, but results show that being age 60 and older posed a higher risk for PTSD. No sex differences were found in this study. | 0.96 |
| Telles et al. (60) | Intervention study | Bihar | Floods | 1,089 adult male participant flood survivors, but only 22 participated in intervention | Screening Questionnaire for Disaster Mental Health (SQD). Administered 1 month after the floods. And the Visual Analogue Scale – self-rater test to measure fear, anxiety, disturbed sleep, and sadness (indicators of emotional distress/PTSD). Self-rated. | Average pre-intervention score for PTSD were 4.5 on the SQD test. Sadness was the only significant symptom to decrease after the yoga intervention as measured by the VAS. | 0.86 |
| Telles et al. (61) | Intervention study | Andaman Islands | Tsunami | 47 indigenous and mainland tsunami survivors | Visual Analogue Scale. Administered 1 month after disaster, self-rated. | Fear, anxiety, sadness and disturbed sleep all measured significantly less after intervention | 0.64 |
| Varghese (62) | Intervention study | Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andra Pradesh | Tsunami | In Kerala, 11,831 people were seen. 176 were seen by mental health team | not specified | 12 cases of PTSD out of the 176 cases seen by the mental health team in Kerala | N/A |
| Vijayakumar et al. (63) | Health assessment | Tamil Nadu | Tsunami | 230 adolescents | Child post-traumatic stress reaction index (CPTSD RI) | Unclear what prevalence were found. However, it was found that positive family history correlated significantly with affective symptoms, hyperactivity, somatic symptoms and symptoms related to PTSD | 0.91 |
| Vijayakumar et al. (64) | Intervention study | Tamil Nadu | Tsunami | 65 adolescent intervention participants and 70 controls | Child post-traumatic stress reaction index (CPTSD RI). Administered 1 year after tsunami by two psychologists and three trained volunteers. | Only hyperactivity problems were significantly reduced after the intervention. Majority of children are likely to be resilient and only children with pre-existing vulnerability require specific and specialized interventions | 0.64 |
| Vijayakumar and Kumar (65) | Intervention study | Tamil Nadu | Tsunami | 102 adults | Scale developed for PTSD as according to ICD-10 and administered by 2 trained psychologists, 1 year after. | Significant decrease in PTSD scores in intervention group, however no prevalence indicated | 0.93 |
| Viswanath et al. (66) | Health assessment | Andaman Islands | Tsunami | 475 patients accessing mental health services | Diagnosis made using ICD-10 by qualified psychiatrists. During initial 3 months following disaster. | Overall, 37% adjustment disorder, 11.2% PTSD, 21.5% depression, 12% panic disorder, 5% anxiety disorder. 13% of males (n = 24) vs. 10% females (n = 29) were diagnosed with PTSD. These diagnoses were in the top 3 of diagnoses after adjustment disorder (33% = m, 40% = f) and depression (17% = m, 24% = f). PTSD was higher in displaced women (12%) compared to non-displaced women (9%). No significance in gender differences was found, nor for displacement. | 0.82 |
| Other/non-specified | |||||||
| Jadhav and Barua (23) | Case study analysis | Assam | Elephant attack | 4 community case studies | Clinical assessment by trained psychiatrist. Time of first evaluation not specified, and last evaluation up to 4 months post event. | 1 woman exhibited symptoms of PTSD | 0.55 |
| Russell et al. (67) | Health assessment | Tamil Nadu | Not specified | 35 adolescents | Impact of event scale with a score of 17 or higher being regarded as a cause for concern’. Self-administered. No specific time after event. | The intrusive symptoms of PTSD were noted more than avoidant symptoms among those adolescents with life events. Adolescents who have psychopathology have significantly different life events. They experienced more parental fighting, increased arguments between parents, and serious illness requiring hospitalization of the adolescent. | 0.96 |
| War/Conflict | |||||||
| Thappa et al. (68) | Health assessment | Jammu, Kashmir | Displacement due to war | 300 Kashmiri migrant families | Mini International Neuropsychiatry Interview schedule (MINI) Cutoff values: Not specified. Administered by: Not specified. Time after trauma: not specified. | PTSD: 6.83% of migrants had a current PTSD diagnosis versus 2.5% in controls. Generalized anxiety disorder: 13.8%, Major depressive episode: 21.55% | 0.86 |
| Bhat and Rangaiah (69) | Prevalence study | Kashmir | Armed conflict | 797 young adults ranging from 19 to 24 exposed to armed conflict | PTSD Checklist civilian version (PCL-C). Score ranges from 17 to 85, with a cutoff of 50 and higher as a PTSD diagnosis. Administered by: not specified. Time since trauma: continuous | Out of the sample, 49.81% (n = 397) were classified as having PTSD. Highest proportion of PTSD symptomology occurred in people exposed to 4 events or more. Factors related to conflict exposure that showed a significant association with PTSD were: feeling of living in conflict, family member being killed or missing, being threatened with death, media coverage, and a high level of personal exposure. No gender differences were found. | 0.93 |
| Crescenzi et al. (70) | Prevalence study | Himachal Pradesh | Displacement due to war | 76 imprisoned and 74 non-imprisoned Tibetan refugees | Harvard Trauma Questionnaire. Administered by two trained lay Tibetan people. Cutoff scores not specified. | 20% of imprisoned refugees had a diagnosis of PTSD according to the HTQ. 92% of respondents expressed current thoughts or memories of the most hurtful or terrifying events, 74% difficulty concentrating, 71% sudden emotional or physical reactions when reminded of events, 68% spend time thinking why these events happened to me, 65% feeling irritable or having outbursts of anger, 60% feeling on guard, 52% recurrent nightmares | 0.93 |
| Elsass et al. (71) | Needs assessment | Himachal Pradesh | Torture and displacement due to war | 102 tortured Tibetan refugees | 7 DSM-symptoms of PTSD graded in a 5-point scale. Administered by Tibetan officers. Date since trauma: not specified. | Study does not give an actual diagnosis of PTSD. But an overview of mean % of symptoms experienced: nightmares 2.25%, flashbacks 2.88%, concentration and memory problems 3.03%, restlessness and anxiety 2.61%, feelings of loss and sadness 2.58%, loneliness 2.15%, irritability and anger 2.42% | 0.84 |
| George and Jettner (72) | Health assessment | Tamil Nadu | Displacement due to war | 50 adult Sri Lankan refugees | Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (only the first part to identify traumatic events) to measure pre-migration traumatic events and the Symptoms Checklist 90R (SCL) - A 90 item checklist that measures psychological distress. Administered by author who is a Social worker/assistant professor. Administered time after event: not specified. | As the number of children increased, psychological distress decreased by 9.685 units. Pre-migration trauma was also a significant predictor of psychological distress, where for each traumatic event experienced, psychological distress increased by 2.707 units. Pre-migration trauma has a stronger influence on psychological distress compared to the number of children. pre-migration trauma also had the strongest impact on daily stressors, followed by psychological distress and host country. | 0.91 |
| Hussain and Bhushan (73) | Health assessment | Dharamshala | Displacement due to war | 226 Tibetan 1st and 2nd generation refugees | Refugee Trauma Experience Inventory duration after: not specified. administered by: not specified. | Participants scored higher than average on the different scales: traumatic experience - 55.51%, PTS = 67.59%, and PTG = 73.02%. Women reported significantly higher scores compared to men on all factors of traumatic experiences. There were significant generational differences found in all three traumatic experiences. Second generation scored high on survival trauma and deprivation/uncertainty and first generation scored high on ethnic concerns. 1st generation scored significantly higher in IES results. | 0.96 |
| Hussain and Bhushan (22) | Tool development | Himachal Pradesh | Displacement due to war | 226 Tibetan refugees | Refugee trauma experience inventory | Prevalence was not looked at. But the developed scale had high internal consistency and the factors derived from the scale correlated moderately to strong with the theoretically related constructs of intrusion, avoidance, rumination and post traumatic schema changes. | 0.85 |
| Mehta et al. (24) | Case study analysis | Gujarat | Riots | 55 women refugees | none | none | 0.6 |
| Servan-Schreiber et al. (74) | Health assessment | Dharamshala | Displacement due to war | 61 Tibetan refugee adolescents aged between 8 and 17 | A newly developed 5 item screening tool. If one item was answered yes, then a clinical interview using DSM-IV criteria was used. Screening was administered at least 12 months after the incident. Screening and psychiatric interviews were done by a psychiatrist and nurse. All psychiatric interviews were reviewed by the psychiatrist. | 11.5% confirmed cases of PTSD, 18% suspected cases of PTSD. 11.5% confirmed cases of major depressive disorder, 13.1% suspected cases of MMD. Only two cases confirmed having both PTSD and MMD. No statistical significance in gender differences for either PTSD or MMD. | 0.77 |
| Shoib (75) | Prevalence study | Jammu, Kashmir | Not specified (but a region prone to natural disasters and political unrest) | 3400 adult subjects | Screening using Life Events Check List, and clinical diagnosis confirmed by psychiatrist using DSM-IV TR and severity of PTSD symptoms assessed using clinical administered PTSD rating scale (CAPS scale). Time after events not specified. | Prevalence of PTSD = 3.76%. Prevalence found to be more in females (2.086 chi square test). Most cases were unmarried, illiterate and belonged to a lower socioeconomic class. Death of a close one comprised the major traumatic event. Onset of PTSD symptoms mostly within 3 months, but also between 3 and 6 months. Symptoms of avoidance and re-experiencing were most prevalent in positive patients (in the 80s%). Symptoms of hyperarousal was the least commonly reported symptom in positive patients (50s-60s%). People in Kashmir have developed a type of resilience perhaps due to the frequent exposure to traumatizing events. This could account for the relatively low prevalence of PTSD found. | 0.77 |