Citation

Daly OE, Johnston TG. J. Trauma. Stress 2002; 15(6): 461-464.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry, Lagan Valley Hospital, Lisburn, Northern Ireland. oscar_daly@dltrust.n-i.nhs.uk

Copyright

(Copyright © 2002, International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1023/A:1020913821272

PMID

12482184

Abstract

A major incident occurred in a Northern Ireland bar in March 1997. One hundred and fifty customers were held at gunpoint. No one sustained any serious physical injury. Six months after the incident 68 individuals were assessed by means of a semistructured interview. Higher than expected levels of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were found. The severity of the incident, but not perceived life threat, was associated with the development of PTSD. The results of this preliminary study show that even in the absence of physical injury, significant psychopathology can occur.

Language: en