Traumatic events, including terrorist attacks, can have a physical and psychological impact on health. However, few evidence-based psychological interventions for the treatment or prevention of post-traumatic symptoms exist. The fellow below investigates if sleep disturbance in the aftermath of the Utøya terrorist attack predicts later post-traumatic stress symptomatology, in particular intrusive memories.
Kate Porcheret
Country of origin: United Kingdom
Host: Grete Dyb
Group: Norwegian Centre of Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies
Thematic area: Trauma related health
Project title: 2011 Utøya Island Attack: longitudinal sleep disturbance trajectories and intrusive memories in the aftermath of a terrorist attack.
My project
My work is focused on the role sleep plays following a traumatic event on the development of post-traumatic stress reactions such as disruptive memories of the event (intrusive memories). During my fellowship I will be working on the Utøya Project: a longitudinal assessment of the survivors and their parents for the 2011 terrorist attack on Utøya Island. Participants have been assessed at 4-5, 14-15, 30-33 months and eight years following the attack.
I will be looking at how sleep changes in this population and how this might relate to post-traumatic stress reactions and other psychological problems.