there is a difference in terms of the age when an individual is most
susceptible to post-traumatic stress disorder and finds gender
differences as well.
The research,
"The combined effect of gender and age on post traumatic stress
disorder: do men and women show differences in the lifespan distribution
of the disorder?" by Daniel N Ditlevsen1 and Ask Elklit
gives information that can help mental health experts anticipate the
times in a person's life when certain problems are more likely to occur
as well as the environments most likely to produce them.
disorder: do men and women show differences in the lifespan distribution
of the disorder?" by Daniel N Ditlevsen1 and Ask Elklit
gives information that can help mental health experts anticipate the
times in a person's life when certain problems are more likely to occur
as well as the environments most likely to produce them.
Women have been found to have a
higher incidence of PTSD than men. Researchers state that's likely
because women report problems more than men do.
Furthermore most cases of reported
PTSD in men occur in the 40's. For women, cases are most often found
when they are in their 50's. Earlier research had indicated PTSD to be
higher for women in their 20's, but the stresses of living have changed,
scientists point out, which may make the difference in the age factor
and its relationship to the development of PTSD.
Furthermore it is the elderly that have the least PTSD rates.
" It was found to be lowest at the
age of 21 to 25 and 71 to 75 years for men (45.66; SD = 17.46) and women
(49.43; SD = 11.75), respectively." researchers point out.
Furthermore, researchers point out, in their analysis of their findings:
"Old age has been considered to
deal with the acceptance of earlier experiences in life and the fact
that death is more imminent than earlier According to Erikson,
old age is concerned with the psychosocial crisis of ego integrity
versus despair. If the crisis is resolved favourably, ego integrity,
wisdom, and life satisfaction is reached. This could in fact be part of
the reason for the decreased risk of PTSD seen in the 50s and 60s for
men and in the late 50s, 60s, and early 70s for women.
The study also hypothesizes another
difference in the fact that PTSD is lower for older people is that old
age shows a decline in self-occupation and a time more spent in quiet
reflection as opposed to superficial social interactions.
On the other hand, there are other
more important factors in the susceptibility of people to PTSD that
include the social, economic, cultural, and historical context of a
disaster-stricken setting more than it depends on age.
How people react culturally to disasters as a group can impact the feelings of the individual, psychiatric research points out.
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