Chernobyl Clean-up Workers' Perception of Radiation Threat

The goals of this study were: (1) to compare the psychometric profiles of male Chernobyl liquidators who met DSM-III-R criteria for current PTSD with those who did not, and (2) to explore liquidators' perception and assessment of the 'invisible' stressor of the radioactive hazard. Results of t-test comparisons between the PTSD and non-PTSD groups for the various psychometric measures are shown. Both diagnostic groups were similar in regard to their mean ages and education levels. The PTSD group scored significantly higher than the non-PTSD group on all the measures of PTSD and general psychiatric symptomatology, state and trait anxiety, depression. On the whole, results of this study demonstrate the determining role of individual perception and assessment of radioactive hazard in the development of post-traumatic stress and place this problem among the most important in studying the psychological consequences of experiencing radioactive threat. The real working conditions and the level of information also affected workers' estimate of the severity of the radiation hazard in Chernobyl.