A Prospective Examination of Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Victims of Nonsexual Assault

Abstract

Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were examined prospectively in 84 non-sexual assault victims (53 women, 31 men) beginning shortly after the assault (mean = 18.68 days) and continuing weekly for 3 months. At the initial assessment, 71% of the women and 50% of the men met symptom criteria for PTSD. The incidence of PTSD decreased to 42% of the women and 32% of the men by the fourth assessment, and at the final assessment, 21% of the women but none of the men remained with PTSD. An examination of specific PTSD symptoms indicated that many subjects who were not diagnosed with PTSD at the final assessment retained significant symptoms of PTSD, particularly reexperiencing and arousal symptoms. The severity of PTSD did decrease significantly over the course of the study, but only in those groups who were not diagnosed with the disorder at the final assessment. Women who were diagnosed with PTSD at the final assessment did not show a significant decrease in symptom severity over the course of the study. The results are discussed with regard to implications for understanding the development and persistence of posttrauma pathology, and directions for future research are outlined.