NCJ Number
79192
Journal
American Journal of Psychiatry Volume: 138 Issue: 9 Dated: (September 1981) Pages: 1193-1197
Date Published
1981
Length
5 pages
Annotation
The psychological state of 14 correctional officers held hostage during the February 1980 riot at a penitentiary in New Mexico is examined.
Abstract
Conclusions are based on interviews with the hostages. Clinically, the hostages experienced helplessness, existential fear, and sensory input overload. These symptoms were experienced in an absolute manner, rather than in degrees, as is more common with ordinary psychological symptoms. All guards experienced these symptoms and described them similarly. After release, existential fear continued to be experienced periodically as a central component of their traumatic neurosis. For months after the riot, the hostages had terrifying dreams and were easily awakened and frightened by any noises, which they invariably interpreted as threatening. Any stimulus symbolic of the hostage experience would plunge the hostage into a psychological state where he reexperienced the sensory aspects of the hostage situation. Sleep problems were still prominent in the hostages 1 year later. The intensity of the hostage experience, rather than its duration, determined the later development of a traumatic neurosis. Caution, isolation, discomfort in crowds, and less certainty about the ability to plan for and predict the future were some of the overall lingering effects of the hostage experience. Sixteen references are listed.