Son Gaeun, Jang Jihee, Hong Euntaek, Park Subin, Choi Yun-Kyeung, Choi Kee-Hong
School of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Department of Psychology, Keimyung University, Daegu, Republic of Korea.
Front Psychiatry. 2025 Mar 19;16:1558085. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1558085. eCollection 2025.
Exposure to potentially traumatic events (PTE) is associated with a range of negative mental health outcomes, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex PTSD (cPTSD). Although exposure to PTEs is highly prevalent, and their impact on mental health is pervasive, research is mostly limited to diagnosed populations or specific trauma cohorts in the post-pandemic era.
We conducted an online survey of 1,000 Seoul residents from October 6-12, 2023, using a stratified sampling method. Participants were asked about their traumatic experiences, mental health outcomes, and experiences with mental health services.
Most participants (98.8%) reported that they had experienced at least one PTE. The average number of PTEs reported was 9.19 (SD=7.908). Ninety participants (9%) were categorized as having probable PTSD (2.8% with PTSD only, and 6.2% with cPTSD). The sum of direct and indirect exposures to PTEs of individuals was associated with mental health outcomes, including PTSD symptom severity. Only 34.4% of patients with probable PTSD reported that they had received appropriate mental health services.
Our results suggest that PTE exposures are highly prevalent, and self-awareness of mental health conditions and utilization of mental health services are low in South Korea. Given the lasting effects of traumatic events and the large number of untreated cases, this study highlights the need for proactive responses to traumatic events and better access to short- and long-term services for traumatized individuals.
接触潜在创伤性事件（PTE）与一系列负面心理健康结果相关，包括创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）和复杂性创伤后应激障碍（cPTSD）。尽管接触PTE非常普遍，且其对心理健康的影响广泛存在，但在后疫情时代，研究大多局限于已确诊人群或特定创伤队列。
我们于2023年10月6日至12日采用分层抽样方法对1000名首尔居民进行了在线调查。参与者被问及他们的创伤经历、心理健康结果以及心理健康服务经历。
大多数参与者（98.8%）报告称他们至少经历过一次PTE。报告的PTE平均数量为9.19（标准差=7.908）。90名参与者（9%）被归类为可能患有PTSD（仅患有PTSD的占2.8%，患有cPTSD的占6.2%）。个体对PTE的直接和间接接触总和与心理健康结果相关，包括PTSD症状严重程度。只有34.4%的可能患有PTSD的患者报告称他们接受了适当的心理健康服务。
我们的结果表明，在韩国，PTE暴露非常普遍，心理健康状况的自我意识和心理健康服务的利用率较低。鉴于创伤性事件的持久影响以及大量未治疗的病例，本研究强调了对创伤性事件采取积极应对措施以及为受创伤个体更好地提供短期和长期服务的必要性。
