Cognitive bias in acute stress disorder.
Cognitive bias was investigated in survivors of motor vehicle accidents with either acute stress disorder (ASD; n = 17) or no ASD (n = 17). Participants completed the acute stress disorder interview, the Beck depression inventory, the Beck anxiety inventory, the impact of event scale, and a probability questionnaire (PQ) and a cost questionnaire (CQ) within four weeks of their accident. ASD participants exaggerated both the probability of negative events occurring, and the adverse cost of those events more than non-ASD participants. IES-Avoidance scores were the only significant predictors of both PQ and CQ scores. Findings are discussed in terms of the role of cognitive errors in posttraumatic adjustment.
Warda
G
G
School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
Bryant
R A
RA
D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000523:psychology; D000328:Adult; D001143:Arousal; D001288:Attention; D003210:Concept Formation; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D010555:Personality Inventory; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology