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Effects of attribution of responsibility for motor vehicle accidents on severity of PTSD symptoms, ways of coping, and recovery over six months
Author(s) -
Hickling Edward J.,
Blanchard Edward B.,
Buckley Todd C.,
Taylor Ann E.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1023/a:1024784711484
Subject(s) - attribution , coping (psychology) , psychology , occupational safety and health , clinical psychology , injury prevention , human factors and ergonomics , poison control , suicide prevention , psychiatry , social psychology , medical emergency , medicine , pathology
In light of Delahanty et al.'s (1997) identification of attribution of responsibility for a motor vehicle accident (MVA) as a powerful determinant of initial level of distress from the trauma and of early remission of PTSD, we reexamined data from Blanchard and Hickling's (1997) prospective follow‐up of 158 MVA survivors. Despite differences between the two samples (Delahanty sample recruited from hospitals 2–3 weeks post‐MVA and predominantly male; our sample recruited from outpatient care 1–4 months post‐MVA and predominantly female) we replicated Delahanty's findings: those with PTSD who blame themselves for the MVA are less symptomatic initially and recover more rapidly in the first 6 months than those with PTSD who blame another party for the accident.