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Acute psychophysiological arousal and posttraumatic stress disorder: A two‐year prospective study
Author(s) -
Bryant Richard A.,
Harvey Allison G.,
Guthrie Rachel M.,
Moulds Michelle L.
Publication year - 2003
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:1025750209553
Subject(s) - arousal , acute stress disorder , posttraumatic stress , heart rate , prospective cohort study , psychology , psychiatry , anxiety disorder , medicine , anesthesia , blood pressure , anxiety , neuroscience
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.