The prevalence of traumatic events and some of the related factors in highschool boys students in Urmia, Iran

The current study was conducted in order to determine the prevalence rate of exposure to traumatic events and some of their related factors in male high school students in Urmia، Iran. Methods and Materials: This descriptive cross-sectional study included 946 male freshmen، junior and senior high school students in Urmia during 2010-2011 school year. The subjects were selected through multistage cluster random sampling. The participants responded to a demographic questionnaire and the Traumatic Events Screening Inventory for Children in their schools and in group. Collected data was analyzed in SPSS18 by descriptive statistic، t-test، chi-square and Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests. The results showed that 72. 2% of participants had been exposed to at least one traumatic event. Watching violence on television، death of a close person، and severe illness of a close individual were the most prevalent events. The results of t-test showed that the prevalence of some events was increased with aging. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test revealed that some events were more prevalent in the low socioeconomic status. The chi-square test showed that there were correlations between educational field and the prevalence of some events. According to the susceptibility of adolescents، the high prevalence of traumatic events can be accounted as one of major health problems among this group of people.