Psychological Medicine
- Psychological Medicine / Volume 21 / Issue 01 / February 1991, pp 85-91
- Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991
- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0033291700014689 (About DOI), Published online: 09 July 2009
Original Articles
Predictors of post-traumatic stress disorder following physical trauma: an examination of the stressor criterion
Anthony Feinsteina1 c1 and Ray Dolana1
a1 Institute of Neurology and the National Hospital for Nervous Diseases, Queen Square, London
Abstract
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.
Correspondence:
c1 Address for correspondence: Dr Anthony Feinstein, The Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London WCIN 3BG.
