Avoidant coping style and post-traumatic stress following motor vehicle accidents.

Predictors of post-traumatic intrusive symptomatology were studied in 56 motor vehicle accident (MVA) survivors 12 months after their MVA. Measures were obtained on Ss' subjective response to the trauma, objective indices of injury severity, coping response (Coping Style Questionnaire), and post-traumatic stress (Impact of Event Scale; IES). Significant levels of intrusive and avoidance symptomatology were reported by 20% of MVA survivors. An avoidant coping style and compensation accounted for 41% of variance of IES-Intrusion scores. Findings are discussed in terms of the role of avoidance behaviour in post-traumatic adjustment.

[1]  A. McFarlane The Longitudinal Course of Posttraumatic Morbidity The Range of Outcomes and Their Predictors , 1988, The Journal of nervous and mental disease.

[2]  G. Gleser,et al.  Identifying survivors at risk: long-term impairment following the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire. , 1985, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[3]  M. Horowitz,et al.  Impact of Event Scale: A Measure of Subjective Stress , 1979, Psychosomatic medicine.

[4]  R. Epstein Avoidant symptoms cloaking the diagnosis of PTSD in patients with severe accidental injury , 1993 .

[5]  C. Taylor,et al.  Psychiatric Disorders following Road Traffic and Industrial Injuries* , 1973, The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry.

[6]  M. Horowitz Stress response syndromes , 1976 .

[7]  J. Lindy,et al.  Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Toward DSM‐IV , 1985, The Journal of nervous and mental disease.

[8]  B. Green,et al.  Psychosocial research in traumatic stress: an update. , 1994, Journal of traumatic stress.

[9]  J. Davidson,et al.  Diagnostic issues in posttraumatic stress disorder: considerations for the DSM-IV. , 1991, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[10]  D M Wegner,et al.  Depression and mental control: the resurgence of unwanted negative thoughts. , 1988, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[11]  I. Jones,et al.  The Post-Accident Syndrome: Variations in the Clinical Picture , 1987, Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry (Print).

[12]  Benjamin E. Saunders,et al.  Victim and crime factors associated with the development of crime-related post-traumatic stress disorder , 1989 .

[13]  Edward J. Hickling,et al.  Post-traumatic stress disorder and motor vehicle accidents , 1992 .

[14]  Reaction to trauma: a cognitive processing model. , 1992 .

[15]  U. Malt,et al.  The Long-Term Psychiatric Consequences of Accidental Injury , 1988, British Journal of Psychiatry.

[16]  D. Brom,et al.  Victims of traffic accidents: incidence and prevention of post-traumatic stress disorder. , 1993, Journal of clinical psychology.

[17]  A. Taylor,et al.  Psychological morbidity associated with motor vehicle accidents. , 1994, Behaviour research and therapy.

[18]  I. Bownes,et al.  Assault characteristics and posttraumatic stress disorder in rape victims , 1991, Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica.

[19]  F H Norris,et al.  Epidemiology of trauma: frequency and impact of different potentially traumatic events on different demographic groups. , 1992, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[20]  A. Shalev Posttraumatic Stress Disorder among Injured Survivors of a Terrorist Attack: Predictive Value of Early Intrusion and Avoidance Symptoms , 1992, The Journal of nervous and mental disease.

[21]  Z. Solomon,et al.  Negative life events, coping responses, and combat-related psychopathology: a prospective study. , 1988, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[22]  Richard Mayou,et al.  Psychiatric consequences of road traffic accidents. , 1993, BMJ.

[23]  E. D. Schwarz,et al.  Malignant memories. Reluctance to utilize mental health services after a disaster. , 1992, The Journal of nervous and mental disease.

[24]  W. Vollmer,et al.  Psychiatric reactions to disaster: the Mount St. Helens experience. , 1986, The American journal of psychiatry.

[25]  M J Horowitz,et al.  Impact of Event Scale: a cross-validation study and some empirical evidence supporting a conceptual model of stress response syndromes. , 1982, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.