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Recovery from post‐traumatic stress disorder in children following road traffic accidents: the role of talking and feeling understood
Author(s) -
Stallard Paul,
Velleman Richard,
Baldwin Sarah
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of community and applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.042
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1099-1298
pISSN - 1052-9284
DOI - 10.1002/casp.610
Subject(s) - feeling , distress , traumatic stress , psychology , injury prevention , acute stress disorder , psychiatry , suicide prevention , human factors and ergonomics , poison control , road accident , occupational safety and health , clinical psychology , posttraumatic stress , medicine , medical emergency , social psychology , pathology , transport engineering , engineering
Forty children were assessed 6 weeks and 8 months after involvement in a road traffic accident (RTA). Ten of the 21 children suffering post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at 6 weeks continued to fulfil diagnostic criteria at 8 months. There was no evidence of delayed onset of PTSD in children who had not developed this condition at 6 weeks. Talking about the accident and feeling understood were associated with recovery. Providing children with opportunities to talk about their accident may be helpful in preventing or reducing psychological distress. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.