The effects of exposure to crisis on well-being of journalists: a study of crisis-related factors predicting psychological health in a sample of Finnish journalists

Effects of work-related and personal exposure to potentially traumatic events on PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), depression, compassion fatigue and burnout were examined in 503 Finnish news journalists (238 men, 265 women) by using a web-based survey. Stepwise linear multiple regression analyses showed that two variables significantly predicted all four outcome factors, i.e. PTSD, depression, compassion fatigue and burnout: the variables were personal exposure to traumatic events, including reactions caused by the event and the magnitude of the worst crisis-related assignment experienced as a journalist. An interaction effect was also found: respondents with high scores on both traumatic experiences in their personal life and a high amount of professional crisis-related assignments had a significantly higher level of PTSD symptoms than others.