Association of objective measures of trauma exposure from motor vehicle accidents and posttraumatic stress symptoms

Abstract

Associations of objective measures of trauma exposure with psychological sequelae following motor vehicle accidents (MVA) were examined in a Japanese population. Impact and injury severity of 93 MVA victims was assessed using on-the-scene in-depth investigations measured by the Injury Severity Score (ISS), barrier equivalent speed (BES), and change in velocity during the impact (Delta-v). Results showed that ISS, BES, and Delta-v were not related to posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) or psychiatric symptoms at 5 and 14 months after the MVA. Subjective measures (e.g., perceived life risk, persistent medical problems) were significantly related to psychological sequelae. These findings suggest that the objective measures of trauma exposure are not associated directly with PTSS or psychiatric symptoms after an MVA.

Do Motivations for Malingering Matter? Symptoms of Malingered PTSD as a Function of Motivation and Trauma Type

“…However, as mentioned above, the interpretation of how genuine victims would respond may be skewed toward being more severe based on participants individual experiences and media representations of trauma in the numerous legal and courtroom dramas on television. That being said, our findings support numerous studies that have demonstrated inflated reports of genuine symptomology when compensation is being sought (e.g., Fujita and Nishida 2008;Franklin et al 2003;Frueh et al 1997;Kunst et al 2010;Tolin et al 2004). Unfortunately, the revenge motivation has not been well studied in malingering contexts.…”

“…Interestingly, some individuals feigning PTSD attempt to make their claims appear as genuine as possible to ensure that they are rewarded compensation (e.g., Rosen 1995), whereas some cases of compensation-seeking are associated with exaggerated symptoms to get a bigger "pay out" (e.g., Franklin et al 2003;Frueh et al 1997;Tolin et al 2004). In general, it appears as though victims of trauma currently involved in civil litigation to seek compensation endorse more severe symptoms of PTSD and trauma than non-litigants (e.g., Fujita and Nishida 2008;Kunst et al 2010). That being said, other studies have indicated that compensation motivations may not be related to variations in symptom reporting, including a lack of exaggeration and comparable symptoms to individuals not seeking compensation (e.g., DeViva and Bloem 2003;Smith and Frueh 1996).…”

The Role of Attribution of Trauma Responsibility in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Following Motor Vehicle Accidents

“…), whereas others have found no association (e.g. ). One possibility is that it is perceived, rather than objective, injury severity that is predictive of subsequent psychological distress.…”

“…), whereas others have failed to find evidence to support this link (e.g. ). Research investigating the role of attributions of responsibility in psychological disorders following an MVA has also yielded mixed findings.…”

Vivo Questionnaire: A Measure of Human Worldviews and Identity in Trauma, Crisis, and Loss—Validation and Preliminary Findings

“…When these situations do not exist or cannot be recalled at the moment, people respond from a purely speculative point of view or based on an estimate of how they consider that they would react, which corresponds to a desideratum (wishful thinking) or to a socially desirable answer (Sumalla, Ochoa, & Blanco, 2008); (4) worldviews measures have not been designed to be applied to the general population, and the studies must compare groups of people with experiences of different levels of intensity (Solomon, Iancu, & Tyano, 1997). This goes against accumulated knowledge indicating a profound individuality in the trauma response and a lack of a dose-response connection between the type or intensity of the traumatic event and changes in worldviews (Basoglu & Parker, 1995;Fujita & Nishida, 2008). It is also important to add the difficulties of establishing causal inferences from studies which are cross-sectional (Kaler et al, 2008) and which do not provide follow-up data to see the sensitivity of worldviews measures to change.…”