Acute posttraumatic stress disorder in victims of a natural disaster.

摘要: Five months after a tornado devastated rural community in eastern North Carolina, the authors surveyed mental health status of 116 disaster victims, using Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL) expanded to include most DSM-III criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A total 69 (59%) victims met acute PTSD, 19 whom had severe form. Although an inadequate degree social support was more often noted with other demographic factors and injury or property damage did not appear be related presence PTSD. Severity PTSD supported by high scores on all HSCL subscale factors. These findings suggest incidence natural disasters potential value screening large populations. Language: en