The Relations Between Trauma Exposure, Subjective Trauma Appraisals, and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms in a Sample of Road Traffic Accident Victims

Abstract

The aim of this present study is to assess the relations between objective trauma exposure characteristics (i.e. the number of days of hospitalization, the number of deaths), subjective trauma appraisal and posttraumatic stress symptoms in victims of road traffic accidents (RTA). We also wanted to identify the moderating role of subjective trauma appraisals in the relations between objective trauma exposure and PTSD symptoms. The study involved a sample consisting of 162 participants that experienced an RTA in the last two years (62.3 % were men). The results showed that the number of days of hospitalization, traumatic fear, and the three types of posttraumatic cognitions were positively correlated with PTSD symptoms. However, only the number of days of hospitalization, traumatic fear, and negative cognitions about the self predicted PTSD symptoms. Further, the results showed that self-blame cognitions moderated the relation between the number of deaths and PTSD symptoms. The results are in line with cognitive models of PTSD and some previous studies sustaining the fact that subjective trauma appraisals are strongly related to PTSD, compared to objective indicators of trauma exposure. The implications of these results for interventions are discussed.