Citation

McFarlane AC, Van Hooff M. Br. J. Psychiatry 2009; 195(2): 142-148.

Affiliation

Dip Psychother, Centre for Military and Veterans' Health, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia. miranda.vanhooff@adelaide.edu.au

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Royal College of Psychiatry)

DOI

10.1192/bjp.bp.108.054270

PMID

19648546

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Studies examining the impact of childhood disaster exposure on the development of adult psychopathology report increased rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other psychopathology. AIMS: To examine the rates of PTSD and other lifetime DSM-IV disorders in adults exposed to an Australian bushfire disaster as children in 1983 using a matched control sample recruited at the time of the original study. METHOD: A total of 1011 adults recruited from an original sample of 1531 were assessed 20 years following the fires using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI-2.1). RESULTS: Results showed only a small direct impact of the fires on adult psychiatric morbidity. A higher proportion of bushfire survivors met criteria for 'any DSM-IV disorder' and ;any anxiety'. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that the long-term impact of a prominent trauma in childhood should be assessed in the context of other lifetime trauma in order to provide a more accurate account of PTSD prevalence rates.

Language: en