Abstract
The experience of traumatic events and posttraumatic stress disorder were examined among n = 77 patients of a Turkish-language outpatient unit at a University Department of Psychosomatics in Essen, Germany, using the Essen Trauma Inventory (ETI) and the Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC-29). At least one traumatic event was reported for 92.2% of the patients. Severe disease, the death or loss of an important person, as well as the experience of a severe accident, were reported most frequently, followed by marital problems. In the psychometric assessment, indices for a positive PTSD diagnosis were found among nearly half of the patients (48.1%). PTSD was most often caused by marital problems (13.5%), severe disease (13.5%) and the loss of an important individual (10.8%). Turkish immigrant patients scored significantly lower on sense of coherence (SOC-29) in comparison to the normal Turkish and German populations as well as to Germans with psychiatric symptoms (all comparisons p < 0.001). This study demonstrates the high prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder in a clinical population of Turkish immigrants and the pathogenic potential of marital problems.
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