Prevalence, Risk, and Correlates of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Across Ethnic and Racial Minority Groups in the United States

Abstract

Objectives We assess whether posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) varies in prevalence, diagnostic criteria endorsement, and type and frequency of traumatic events (PTEs) among a nationally representative U.S. sample of 5071 non-Latino whites, 3264 Latinos, 2178 Asians, 4249 African Americans, and 1476 Afro-Caribbeans. Methods PTSD and other psychiatric disorders were evaluated using the World Mental Health-Composite International Diagnostic Interview (WMH-CIDI) in a national household sample that oversampled ethnic/racial minorities (n=16,238) but was weighted to produce results representative of the general population. Results Asians have lower prevalence rates of probable lifetime PTSD while African Americans have higher rates as compared to non-Latino whites, even after adjusting for type and number of exposures to traumatic events, and for sociodemographic, clinical and social support factors. Afro-Caribbeans and Latinos seem to demonstrate similar risk to non-Latino whites, adjusting for these same covariates. Higher rates of probable PTSD exhibited by African Americans and lower rates for Asians, as compared to non-Latino whites, do not appear related to differential symptom endorsement, differences in risk or protective factors or differences in types and frequencies of PTEs across groups. Conclusions There appears to be marked differences in conditional risk of probable PTSD across ethnic/racial groups. Questions remain about what explains risk of probable PTSD. Several factors that might account for these differences are discussed as well as the clinical implications of our findings. Uncertainty of the PTSD diagnostic assessment for Latinos and Asians requires further evaluation.

Resilience: Protective Factors for Depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder among African American Women?

“…Research has revealed higher rates of lifetime prevalence of PTSD among African Americans (8.7%) compared to non-Latino whites (7.4%) or Asians (4.0%) (Roberts, Gilman, Breslau, Breslau, & Koenen, 2011). Consistent with Roberts et al (2011), another study using a different data set also found lifetime prevalence of PTSD to be higher among African Americans, while Asians and Latinos have lower prevalence rates of probable lifetime PTSD, as compared to non-Latino whites (Alegría et al, 2013).…”

Posttraumatic stress disorder and alcohol misuse among women: effects of ethnic minority stressors

“…Although lower rates of AUD have been revealed among Blacks and Hispanics compared to non-Hispanic Whites in the majority of studies [7–10], findings have been mixed with regard to PTSD [11–13,19]. A recent meta-analysis focused on Hispanics found consistent support for elevated rates of PTSD onset and severity among Hispanics relative to non-Hispanic Whites [11].…”

“…A recent meta-analysis focused on Hispanics found consistent support for elevated rates of PTSD onset and severity among Hispanics relative to non-Hispanic Whites [11]. On the other hand, the prevalence of PTSD was found to be greater among Blacks, but not Hispanics, compared to non-Hispanic Whites in a nationally representative U.S. sample [13]. In addition, Blacks may be at greater risk of persistent anxiety disorders compared to non-Hispanic Whites [20,21], perhaps as a result of higher or chronic exposure to discrimination [20,22,23].…”

Racial Differences in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Vulnerability Following Hurricane Katrina Among a Sample of Adult Cigarette Smokers from New Orleans

“…Blacks have the highest prevalence of PTSD compared to whites, Hispanics, and Asians [10–12]. Similarly, studies examining the incidence of PTSD after a natural disaster find that blacks, compared to whites, have an increased risk for PTSD [13–14].…”

“…These preexisting, trauma-specific, and post-trauma factors have been selectively examined in national [10, 11] and regional samples [13, 14, 24]. Roberts et al tested the differential exposure hypothesis in a representative sample of U.S. adults, and found that across a lifetime, blacks had a lower rate of exposure to any traumatic event, but a slightly higher likelihood of developing PTSD compared to whites [11].…”