PTSD in African American and Latinx Adults (1 CE)

This course is for: Counselors, LMFTs, Clinical Psychologists & Nurses

Course By: Joel Austin, PharmD & Kristin Ceppaluni, LMHC

Content By: Sibrava, N., Bjronsson, A., Perez Benitez, A., Moitra, E., & Keller, M. (2019) Posttraumatic stress disorder in african american and latinx adults: Clinical course and the role of racial and ethnic discrimination.  American Psychological Association, 74 (2019).

Course Description:  African American and Latinx adults evidence greater post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) prevalence rates, and poorer treatment outcomes, compared to Caucasian adults. Sociocultural factors and racial stressors (e.g., discriminatory racial and ethnic experiences) may contribute to increased PTSD prevalence rates and poorer clinical outcomes. Researchers sought to explore these variables in consideration of the course of illness. Discrimination frequency significantly predicted PTSD diagnoses and highlighted the effect of discrimination on chronic PTSD development. Researchers further discussed the implications for an increased focus on sociocultural stressors relative to PTSD assessment and treatment. 

Learning Objectives: 

1. Identify the study aim and related methods for assessing the impact of discriminatory events on chronic PTSD diagnoses
2. Learn the type of experience that constitutes a “discriminatory event” and the way stressors can affect long-term psychopathology
3. Understand the study limitations and identify areas for future research that are premised on the relationship between PTSD and at-risk communities

Course Outline:  

• Read and understand Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in African American and Latinx Adults: Clinical Course and the Role of Racial and Ethnic Discrimination
• Review the Course Description and Learning Objectives
• Assess the information related to discriminatory event frequency and PTSD development in African American and Latinx communities
• Work through the post-test questions; keep in mind that answer selections should be derived from the respective article
• Return to the referenced article for any missed questions and/or to better understand the relationship between PTSD and described discriminatory events

Implicit Bias:

Implicit biases incorporate an association that occurs outside of conscious awareness that may resultantly lead to a negative patient evaluation derived from irrelevant characteristics (e.g., gender, race, etc.). A systematic review of the literature was conducted. Thirty-five studies identified the existence of implicit bias in healthcare professionals; all correlational studies evidenced a significant positive relationship between implicit bias levels and lower quality of care. Future research studies should examine the role of implicit bias in disparities in healthcare. Additional research across healthcare settings, combined with greater method homogeneity relative to methods that are implemented to test implicit biases in healthcare, is further suggested (FitzGerald & Hurst, 2017).

Approvals: