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Predictors of post-traumatic stress disorder following physical trauma: an examination of the stressor criterion

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Anthony Feinstein  and
Ray Dolan
Anthony Feinstein*
Affiliation:
Institute of Neurology and the National Hospital for Nervous Diseases, Queen Square, London
Ray Dolan
Affiliation:
Institute of Neurology and the National Hospital for Nervous Diseases, Queen Square, London
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr Anthony Feinstein, The Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London WCIN 3BG.
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Synopsis

A prospective study documenting psychopathology was undertaken in 48 subjects exposed to a range of physical trauma, but whose injuries were of similar severity. No support was found for the DSM-III-R view correlating the severity of the stressor with the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Distress post injury (high scores on the impact of event scale), indicative of difficulty with cognitive assimilation of the traumatic event, was found to be highly predictive of psychiatric morbidity and PTSD at 6 months.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 21 , Issue 1 , February 1991 , pp. 85 - 91
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

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