Citation

McFarlane AC. Br. J. Psychiatry 1989; 154: 221-228.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry, Flinders University of South Australia.

Comment In:

Br J Psychiatry 1989;154:886-7.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1989, Royal College of Psychiatry)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

2775949

Abstract

A group of 469 firefighters were studied 4, 11 and 29 months after having an extreme exposure to a bushfire disaster. The relative importance of the impact of the disaster, personality and ways of coping were investigated as determinants of post-traumatic morbidity. Neuroticism and a past history of treatment for a psychological disorder were better predictors of post-traumatic morbidity than the degree of exposure to the disaster or the losses sustained. These results raise doubts about the postulated central aetiological role a traumatic event plays in the onset of morbidity.

Language: en