Acute psychophysiological arousal and posttraumatic stress disorder: a two-year prospective study.
This study investigated the role of acute arousal in the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Hospitalized motor vehicle accident survivors (n = 146) were assessed for acute stress disorder (ASD) within 1 month of the trauma, 6 months later, and reassessed for PTSD 2 years posttrauma (n = 87). Heart rates (HR) were assessed on the day of hospital discharge. Participants who had PTSD 2 years posttrauma had higher HR at hospital discharge than those without PTSD. A diagnosis of ASD or a resting HR of 95 beats per minute had moderate sensitivity (74%) and specificity (91%) in predicting PTSD. These findings suggest that caution is required in using acute HR as a predictor of longer-term PTSD following trauma.
School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. r.bryant@unsw.edu.au
Richard A
RA
Bryant
Allison G
AG
Harvey
Rachel M
RM
Guthrie
Michelle L
ML
Moulds
D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D001143:Arousal; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology*