Development of Traumatic Experiences Screening Form (large T): An Investigation for University Students

Abstract

The aim of this study is to develop Traumatic Experiences Screening Form (large T), which deals with traumatic experiences in a comprehensive way and to determine the traumatic experiences of university students. This study was conducted in the survey design, which is one of the quantitative research methods. The study was conducted with 1069 university students who had traumatic experience (directly experiencing the traumatic event(s), witnessing the traumatic event(s), learning that the traumatic event(s) occurred to close family member or close friend) and agreed to participate voluntarily. The data were collected by using the Personal Information Form and Traumatic Experiences Screening Form (large T). The findings indicate that the traumatic experience to which participants were exposed at the highest rate was “A very serious health problem or a chronic illness”. The traumatic experience that was reported to have been experienced the least often by the participants was “Forced detention and sexual assault”. The analysis of the trauma-based stress levels revealed that the participants directly experiencing a traumatic event scored the “unexpected death of a family member or close friend” as the highest stressor (10 points). When analyzed in terms of temporal distribution, 27% of university students with traumatic experience experienced the trauma by being directly exposed, 31% as witnesses and 62% by learning that it happened to a relative in the last year.

Keywords

• Trauma
• traumatic experiences
• possibilities of exposure to trauma

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