Posttraumatic stress disorder among serious motor vehicle accident victims: analysis of predictors

Authors

  • Tânia Sofia Fernandes Pires Universidade do Minho; Escola de Psicologia; Centro de Investigação em Psicologia
  • Ângela da Costa Maia Universidade do Minho; Escola de Psicologia; Centro de Investigação em Psicologia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1590/S0101-60832013000600001

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Motor vehicle accidents (MVA) are traumatic experiences that are related to psychological disorders as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Peritraumatic dissociation and acute stress disorder (ASD) have been studied as predictors of PTSD. Studies have also found that women report more psychological symptoms after traumatic experiences than do men. OBJECTIVE: Analyze the explanatory contribution of peritraumatic dissociative experiences, ASD symptoms and gender toward the subsequent development of PTSD. METHOD: One hundred twenty-four male and female victims of serious MVA were evaluated at the hospital (t1) and four months after the MVA (t2). Participants completed a peritraumatic dissociative experiences questionnaire (PDEQ) (t1), a questionnaire used to evaluate ASD (SASRQ) (t1) and a traumatic event scale (RTES) used to evaluate PTSD (t2). RESULTS: Of the studied population, 64.5% report ASD (t1) and 58.9% report PTSD (t2). Peritraumatic dissociation and ASD symptoms are positively correlated with PTSD symptoms. Females report more peritraumatic dissociation, ASD and PTSD than do males. Peritraumatic dissociation, ASD and gender (female) explain 26.8% of the observed variance in PTSD symptoms (t2), with gender contributing only marginally to the model. DISCUSSION: A high rate of MVA victims report PTSD, and peritraumatic responses predict the subsequent development of PTSD, suggesting the need to consider these predictors in methods for the prevention of psychopathology.

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Published

2013-01-01

Issue

Section

Original Articles

How to Cite

Posttraumatic stress disorder among serious motor vehicle accident victims: analysis of predictors . (2013). Archives of Clinical Psychiatry, 40(6), 211-214. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0101-60832013000600001