SíNTOMAS DE ESTRéS POSTRAUMáTICO (EPT) EN PERIODISTAS MEXICANOS QUE CUBREN LA GUERRA CONTRA EL NARCOTRáFICO

the present study obtained data on the frequency of posttraumatic stress disorder (ptsd) symptoms from a national sample of mexican journalists. the main objective of this exploratory and transversal study was to assess ptsd symptoms, and identify differences by gender (male/female), assignment (journalists who cover drug trafficking news/other journalists), and professional activity (reporter/ photographer). the ptsd checklist-civilian version (pcl-c), and a questionnaire on sociodemographic data were used. the instruments were applied in a national context of war on drugs, in which acts of extreme violence like mass murders, beheadings and skinning are present. results indicate that 35% of the journalists had ptsd symptoms. however, rates of ptsd symptoms in reporters who cover drug war news were significantly higher than in journalists who cover other assignments (p=.03).