Research Study Reports Prevalence Of PTSD Symptoms In KP's Journalists

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Oct, 2020 ) :An international research study has reported a high prevalence and severity of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms among journalists working in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.

The research study which was the result of a collaboration between researchers from Pakistan and the U.S has been published in Journalism research journal said a press release issued here on Sunday.

It was conducted by three academics in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and three American professors to find out how journalists covering war, conflict and crime got exposed to psychological problems, especially trauma.

The study titled "Trauma exposure and post-traumatic stress disorder among regional journalists in Pakistan," found that almost half of the journalists interviewed across the province (48.

61%) reported prevalence of PTSD symptoms.

This was the highest prevalence rates recorded among a vast group of journalists globally.

The findings of the study show that the journalists working in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have higher PTSD symptoms than war journalists who reported from war-ravaged Iraq and other countries. The study found that work-related exposure to traumatic events significantly contributed to the PTSD symptoms among the journalists.

The study recommended that there was a need of interventions to address the mental health issues faced by journalists reporting from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.This was the first research study that explored the PTSD symptoms among Pakistani journalists.

The research study was available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884920965783