TY  - JOUR
PY  - 1998//
TI  - Acute stress disorder as a predictor of posttraumatic stress symptoms
JO  - American journal of psychiatry
A1  - Classen, C.
A1  - Koopman, C.
A1  - Hales, R.
A1  - Spiegel, David
SP  - 620
EP  - 624
VL  - 155
IS  - 5
N2  - OBJECTIVE: Using the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for acute stress disorder, the authors examined whether the acute psychological effects of being a bystander to violence involving mass shootings in an office building predicted later posttraumatic stress symptoms. METHOD: The participants in this study were 36 employees working in an office building where a gunman shot 14 persons (eight fatally). The acute stress symptoms were assessed within 8 days of the event, and posttraumatic stress symptoms of 32 employees were assessed 7 to 10 months later. RESULTS: According to the Stanford Acute Stress Reaction Questionnaire, 12 (33%) of the employees met criteria for the diagnosis of acute stress disorder. Acute stress symptoms were found to be an excellent predictor of the subjects' posttraumatic stress symptoms 7-10 months after the traumatic event. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest not only that being a bystander to violence is highly stressful in the short run, but that acute stress reactions to such an event further predict later posttraumatic stress symptoms.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0002-953X
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/
ID  - ref1
ER  -