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Peritraumatic distress: A review and synthesis of 15 years of research
Author(s) -
Vance Mary C.,
Kovachy Benjamin,
Dong Melissa,
Bui Eric
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/jclp.22612
Subject(s) - distress , psychopathology , psychiatry , clinical psychology , psychology , posttraumatic stress , medicine
Context Although the subjective trauma exposure criterion was removed from the DSM‐5 criteria set for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), emerging literature suggests that peritraumatic distress may be useful in predicting outcomes after exposure to a stressful event. Method We conducted a comprehensive review of the literature examining the association between peritraumatic distress and PTSD and other psychiatric outcomes. The 57 studies herein varied in both experimental design and target populations. Results Forty‐eight studies found associations between peritraumatic distress and PTSD outcome measures, 23 found associations between peritraumatic distress and other psychiatric outcomes, and three found associations between peritraumatic distress and PTSD‐related symptoms or other psychiatric outcomes after non‐Criterion A stressful events by DSM‐5 criteria. Conclusion Peritraumatic distress is associated with PTSD symptom severity, other psychiatric symptoms, and severity of PTSD‐related symptoms after exposure to non‐Criterion A events, suggesting that peritraumatic distress is a risk factor for various psychiatric outcomes and furthering our understanding of the impact of subjective experience on trauma psychopathology.