title: Linguistic analysis to assess medically related posttraumatic stress symptoms.
abstract: The authors examined the presence of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in 20 patients requiring ventilation after acute respiratory distress. The subjects completed a semistructured interview about their ventilation experience that was subject to content and linguistic analysis. Subjects also completed two self-report measures to assess PTSS and socioemotional adjustment. Subjects who endorsed PTSS were more likely to use a narrative style suggesting emotional involvement in their recall of the stressful event. The authors indicate that the presence of PTSS is a common consequence of traumatic medical experiences and that denial of distress may be an adaptive short-term coping strategy.
authors.affiliation: Stanford University School of Medicine, CA 94305-5719, USA.
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Harvey
authors.forename: K L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gunary
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kruk
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Steiner
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008037:Linguistics; D012121:Respiration, Artificial / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000523:psychology*; D012128:Respiratory Distress Syndrome / Q000628:therapy*; D012307:Risk Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires