Personer som genomgått en traumatisk händelse befinner sig i riskzonen för att utveckla post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), som innebär en stor livsbegränsning och ett stort lidande. Dagligen möter hälso- och sjukvårdspersonal personer som ännu ej diagnostiserats och det är därför av vikt att kunna identifiera PTSD-symptom. Syftet med litteraturstudien var att undersöka samband mellan olika trauman och PTSD-symptom enligt diagnostiseringssystemet DSM IV. Studien grundades på en deduktiv ansats och resultatet bestod av 15 vetenskapliga artiklar som granskades. Resultatet behandlade DSM IV:s tre symptomkluster: re-experience/intrusion, avoidance och Hyperarousal.

Earlier psychological research on stress and its complex of problems has identified several factors which have shown a relation with the occurrence of a poorer mental ill-health. In this study some of these factors have been examined in 69 police officers from Stockholm, Lund and Helsingborg. In the study, police officers with high and low self reported ill-health were compared considering trait anxiety, alexithymia and posttraumatic stress symptoms.The results showed that police officers with poorer mental ill health had a significant higher degree of trait anxiety, the dimension of alexithymia difficulty identifying feelings and the PTSD-dimension avoidance and Hyperarousal. The results also showed several positive relations among the variables that divided the groups. On account of the last-mentioned the results will above all be discussed in an integrating perspective..