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Acute stress response: a comparison of head injured and non-head injured patients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Richard A. Bryant  and
Allison G. Harvey
Richard A. Bryant*
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of New South Wales and Westmead Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Allison G. Harvey
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of New South Wales and Westmead Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr Richard A. Bryant, School Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
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Synopsis

Acute stress responses were investigated in head injured (N = 38) and non-head injured (N = 38) motor vehicle accident victims immediately following their trauma. Results indicated that amnesia of the traumatic event was associated with less acute post-traumatic stress, intrusive symptoms, perceived injury, and fear of future risk. A proportion of head injured patients reported intrusive and avoidance symptoms despite being amnesic of their trauma. Findings are discussed in terms of the differential post-traumatic adjustment of head injured and non-head injured traumatized patients.

Type
Brief Communications
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 25 , Issue 4 , July 1995 , pp. 869 - 873
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

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