A prospective longitudinal study assessed 967 consecutive patients who attended an emergency clinic shortly after a motor vehicle accident, again at 3 months, and at 1 year. The prevalence of post traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) was 23.1% at 3 months and 16.5% at 1 year. Chronic PTSD was related to some objective measures of trauma severity, perceived threat, and dissociation during the accident, to female gender, to previous emotional problems, and to litigation. Maintaining psychological factors, that is, negative interpretation of intrusions, rumination, thought suppression, and anger conditions, enhanced the accuracy of the prediction. Negative interpretation of intrusion, persistent medical problems, and rumination at 3 months were the most important predictions of PTSD symptoms at 1 year. Rumination, anger conditions, injury severity, and prior emotional problems identified cases of delayed onset. (A)
Samenvatting