OBJECTIVE The authors investigated acute stress disorder and later posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children and adolescents who had been involved in assaults or motor vehicle accidents. METHOD They interviewed 93 patients 10-16 years old who were seen in an emergency department for having been assaulted or involved in a motor vehicle accident within 4 weeks after the assault or accide...

Recent professional publications show that the diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be subject to abuse in forensic settings. Now, pulp fiction portrayals of PTSD and reports in the press also reflect how this relatively new diagnostic category can be abused. This trivialization of PTSD has implications for real survivors of truly traumatic events.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects up to 18% of combat veterans, many of whom will seek care from clinicians outside the military healthcare system. This article reviews the epidemiology, risk factors, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and referral options for PTSD so that PAs in primary care can recognize and appropriately manage patients with PTSD.

The authors present a review of pharmacotherapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Only a few controlled clinical trials have been carried out on PTSD, but there is a growing interest on this topic. Antidepressants, specially those with serotonergic activity, appear to provide effective pharmacotherapy for PTSD, as having either a primary therapeutic effect or in association with psychot...

conclusions the more support in weeks 2 and 6 postpartum, the less ptsd occurs. therefore, it is suggested to health care providers who face mothers after delivery to evaluate the support received by mothers and help those with inadequate or inappropriate support. results a reverse significant association was found between family support in weeks 2 and 6 (92.6 ± 22.6, 83.7 ± 21.6, respectively)...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to examine the relationships among extraversion, social support, posttraumatic stress disorder and posttraumatic growth among adolescent survivors of the Wenchuan earthquake. METHODS Six hundred thirty-eight participants were selected from the survivors of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. Participants completed four main questionnaires, including the Extravers...

BACKGROUND Limited studies of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis regulation in posttraumatic stress disorder have been performed in premenopausal women. We therefore undertook a study of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis regulation in this population. METHODS Outpatient posttraumatic stress disorder subjects were compared with healthy, age- and weight-matched nontraumatized subjects. Subje...

BACKGROUND Most women who choose to terminate a pregnancy cope well following an abortion, although some women experience severe psychological distress. The general interpretation in the field is that the most consistent predictor of mental disorders after induced abortion is the mental health issues that women present with prior to the abortion. We have previously demonstrated that few women d...

OBJECTIVE The authors' goal was to compare the efficacy of a manualized cognitive behavior therapy that addresses both posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance abuse (seeking safety) with a manualized cognitive behavior therapy that addresses only substance abuse (relapse prevention) and with standard community care for the treatment of comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) an...

In 2008, an 8.0 Richter scale earthquake devastated Wenchuan in China, which resulted in heavy casualties, and had wide-reaching psychological effects on survivors. To examine its impact on the survivors, this study aims to investigate the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and posttraumatic growth (PTG) in adolescents eight years after the earthquake. The cross-section survey w...