Smith, Marilyn Jane;
(1997)
Psychiatric morbidity following road traffic accidents.
Doctoral thesis (M.D), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
Objectives: To examine psychiatric morbidity, in particular Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in road traffic accident victims. Design: Prospective, longitudinal one year follow up study of two groups of victims differentiated on severity of event by admission to hospital, one group admitted, one not admitted. Setting: Accident and Emergency Department of North Tees General Hospital, serving a mixed urban and rural population of 177,299. Subjects: 80 general road accident victims presenting at Accident and Emergency who resided in North Tees Health District. 30 consecutive admissions to hospital and 50 randomly recruited, not admitted, aged 18–65, not involved in a fatal accident nor receiving significant head injury. Main Measure: PTSD. Subsidiary Measures: Psychiatric disorder, depression, anxiety and symptoms related to accident circumstances. Results: At least one fifth of subjects suffered PTSD during the year following the accident. Just over one third of those admitted to hospital and approximately one eighth of those not admitted to hospital so suffered. Most improved over time but one twentieth pursued a chronic course. Other psychological consequences sometimes occurred, either co-morbid with PTSD or independently. At least one third suffered psychiatric disorder. This was not synonymous with PTSD but was present in just over half PTSD cases. Depression occurred in approximately one fifth of the total sample and anxiety symptoms in one tenth. One fifth suffered accident related phobias. Admission to hospital and higher Impact of Event scores were predictive of developing PTSD. Accident related symptomatology was not influenced by seeking compensation. Conclusions: Road traffic accidents are common events as is the development of PTSD after such an accident. PTSD is more likely to develop the more severe the event, but can occur after a relatively minor accident and may become chronic. Other psychological consequences can occur. The cost to the individual and society is great. More research and prevention strategies are required.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | M.D |
| Title: | Psychiatric morbidity following road traffic accidents |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Thesis digitised by ProQuest. |
| Keywords: | Psychology; Psychiatric morbidity; Traffic accidents |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10098971 |
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