Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The authors prospectively examined the power of peritraumatic dissociation and acute stress symptoms in predicting posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms.
METHOD: Thirty-five assault victims were assessed with the Peritraumatic Dissociative Experiences Questionnaire within 24 hours of the assault. Participants were reassessed 2 weeks after the trauma with the Stanford Acute Stress Reaction Questionnaire and 3 months after the trauma with the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale and the Impact of Event Scale. Correlational analyses and a hierarchical multiple regression were conducted.
RESULTS: Peritraumatic dissociation and acute stress symptoms were correlated with later PTSD symptoms and diagnosis. Together, peritraumatic dissociation and acute stress symptoms accounted for 33% of the variance in PTSD symptoms.
CONCLUSIONS: These results support earlier findings that peritraumatic dissociative experiences and acute stress are robust predictors of PTSD. Such symptoms may be of use for identifying at an early-stage individuals at highest risk of remaining symptomatic. Future studies should investigate the predictive power of specific peritraumatic and acute stress disorder symptom clusters.
