traumatic event is a critical factor in stress reactions.docVIP

traumatic event is a critical factor in stress reactions,PTSD(American Psychiatric Association,2000)is typically observed in only 5–10% of exposed or exceptionally aversive events,the proportion of full–down PTSD reactions may reach higher levels,sometimes as high as one–third of the sample.This was evident in a study of 2752 individuals drawn by probability sampling from the New York metropolitan area during the weeks and months following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.Overall,the prevalence of PTSD for this sample was estimated at 6%(Bonanno,Galea,Bucciarelli, Vlahov,2006).However,among those physically injured in the attacks,PTSD prevalence rose to 26%.In another study reanalyzing the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment date, a representative sample of 1200 veterans,chronic PTSD was estimated at 9% overall,but among veterans with the highest levels of combat exposure the estimate was 28%(Dohrenwend et al.,2006). In studies of bereavement,the proportion of persons who display more severe and chronic reaction to loss is similar.Although estimates vary somewhat,it is typically thought that 10-15% of bereaved people Will develop chronically elevated grief reaction(Bonanno Kaltman,2001).As was the case for potentially traumatic events in general,however,chronic grief reactions tend to be more prevalent following more extreme losses,such as loss from a violent cause（Kaltman Bonanno,2003;Zisook,Chentsova-Dutton, Shuchter,1998）or when the lost loved one was a child(Bonanno, Papa, Lalande,Zhang,Noll,2005). Delayed Reactions What about delayed reactions?A long-held assumption in the bereavement literature is that the absence of overt signs of grieving,by virtue of its assumed link with denial,will eventually manifest in delayed grief reactions(Bowlby,1980a;Deutsch,1937; Osterweis et al.,1984;Parkes Weiss,1980;Rando,1993;Sanders,1993).Despite the strength of this belief,however,empirical evidence for delayed grief has never been reported(Bonanno Kaltman,1999;Wortman Sl