Prevalence and network structure of post-traumatic stress symptoms and their association with suicidality among Chinese mental health professionals immediately following the end of China's Dynamic Zero-COVID Policy: a national survey

This study investigated the prevalence, correlates, and network structure of post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and their association with suicidality among Chinese mental health professionals (MHPs) after the end of China's Dynamic Zero-COVID Policy. A national survey of 10,647 MHPs revealed a 6.7% prevalence of PTSS and a 7.7% prevalence of suicidality. Correlates of PTSS included being married, quarantine experience, suicidality, and more severe depressive symptoms. Network analysis identified "Avoiding thoughts," "Avoiding reminders," and "Feeling emotionally numb" as the most central PTSS, while "Negative belief," "Hypervigilance," and "Irritability" showed the strongest associations with suicidality. The findings highlight the need for monitoring avoidance and hyper-arousal symptoms and targeted interventions to prevent and treat PTSS and suicidality in this population.

Pan Chen, Ling Zhang, Yuan Feng, Feng-Rong An, Zhaohui Su, Teris Cheung, Ka-In Lok, Gabor S. Ungvari, Todd Jackson, Yu-Tao Xiang, Qinge Zhang