%0 Journal Article
%T Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder among Defence and Security Forces in Northern Benin (2023)
%A Ireti Nethania Elie Ataigba
%A Guy G¨¦rard Aza Gnandji
%A David Sinet Koivogui
%A Dalmace Fauste Adjaho
%A Eurydice Elvire Djossou
%A Anselme Djidonou
%A Francis Tognon Tchegnonsi
%A Prosper Gandaho
%A Josiane Ezin Houngbe
%J Open Journal of Psychiatry
%P 142-161
%@ 2161-7333
%D 2024
%I Scientific Research Publishing
%R 10.4236/ojpsych.2024.142009
%X <strong>Introduction:</strong> <span style=\"font-family:;\" \"=\"\">Post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD) is defined as ˇ°actual exposure to death or the threat of death, serious
injury or sexual violenceˇ±,</span><span style=\"font-family:;\" \"=\"\"> either directly or indirectly, resulting in a
symptomatic procession of repetition, avoidance, neurovegetative hyperactivity
and individualized symptoms, <span>with or without
negative cognitive and mood changes. It therefore goes</span> without saying
that the defence and security forces constitute a high-risk population <span>in need of attention. <b>Objective: </b>To study
post-traumatic stress disorder i</span>n <span>defence
and security forces in the city of Parakou in 2023. <b>Methods:</b></span><b> </b>Descriptive
cross-sectional study conducted from December 2022 to July 2023. The study
population<span> consisted of active military,
republican police and firefighters in</span> the city of Parakou in 2023.
Non-proportional stratified sampling was used, <span>given the inaccessibility of the source population size for national security</span> <span>reasons. Post-traumatic stress disorder was
assessed using the ˇ°post-traumatic </span><span>stress
disorder checklist-5 (PCLS-5) scale. <b>Results: </b>A total of 305 subjects</span><span> participated in the survey. Males dominated 90.2%.
The most represented corps </span><span>was the Republican
Police (41.6%), most of whom were non-commissioned</span><span> </span><span>officers
(46.6%). The majority count between 11 and 20 years of service (48.9%), </span><span>with 2 to 5 missions completed (67.5%). The
calculated prevalence of post-</span></span><span style=\"font-family:;\" \"=\"\">traumatic </span><span style=\"font-family:;\" \"=\"\">stress disorder was 11.8%, based on the post-traumatic stress disorder
checklist-5 (PCL-5). Of the 36 respondents with post-traumatic stress disorder,
20 (55.6%) had experienced an armed attack, 25 (69.4%) had witnessed a violent
death, 18 (50.0%) had witnessed the agony of a colleague, 15 (41.7%) had been
exposed to a fire or explosion, while 26 (72.2%) had been traumatized by
physical and/or verbal aggression. 5 (13.9%) had consulted a <span>specialist psychiatrist, while 6 (16.7%) were on
medication and 26 (72.2%</span>) used sport as a means of maintaining physical
and mental health. Respective<span>ly 22 (61.1%)
and 21 (58.3%) had definite symptoms of anxiety and depres</span>sion. <span>Multivariate analysis revealed a significant
association between post-traumatic </span>stress disorder and the
%K Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
%K Forces
%K Defence
%K Security
%K Benin
%K 2023
%U http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=131566