The Organization and Content of Trauma Memories in Survivors of Road Traffic Accidents

This paper investigates the trauma narratives of 131 road traffic accident survivors prospectively, at 1 week, 6 weeks, and 3 months post-trauma. At 1 and 6 weeks, narratives of survivors with acute stress disorder (ASD) or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were less coherent and included more dissociation content. By 3 months, their narratives also contained more repetition, more non-consecutive chunks, and more sensory words. Traumatic brain injury was associated with a separate characteristic, confusion, at all 3 time points. Three aspects of narrative organization at 1 week—repetition, non-consecutive chunks, and coherence—predicted PTSD severity at 3 months after controlling for initial symptoms. Results suggest both a strong concurrent and predictive relationship between narrative disorganization and ASD/PTSD but that as people recover from ASD, their narratives do not necessarily become less disorganized.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00057967
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Abstract reprinted with permission from Elsevier
• Authors:
  • Jones, Charlie
  • Harvey, Allison G
  • Brewin, Chris R
• Publication Date: 2007-1

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: References;
• Pagination: pp 151-162
• Serial:
  • Behaviour Research and Therapy
  • Volume: 45
  • Issue Number: 1
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 0005-7967

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Anxiety; Behavior; Brain; Memory; Posttraumatic stress disorder; Psychological aspects; Stress (Psychology); Traffic crash victims; Traffic crashes
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I84: Personal Injuries;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01051974
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 26 2007 3:41PM