Short-Term Psychological Concequences for Children after a Traffic Accident

SHORT-TERM PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES FOR CHILDREN AFTER A TRAFFIC ACCIDENT Grete Dyb, M.D. Institute of Child- and Adolescent Psychiatry,Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway, Are Holen, M.D. Ph.D., Kjersti Brænne, M.D., Marit S. Indredavik, M.D., Jon Aarseth Objective: This study examines possible parent-child discrepancies in the reporting of post-traumatic stress reactions in children after a traffic accident. Methods: Sixteen children exposed to a traffic accident, were interviewed about post-traumatic stress symptoms four weeks and six months after the accident, the Child Post-Traumatic Stress - Reaction Index (CPTS-RI) was used. Independently, the parents reported their child�s degree of PTSD symptoms on the CPTS-RI: Parent questionnaire, at the same two times. Results: The children reported significantly more PTSD symptoms than observed by their parents four weeks after the accident. The parent-child discrepancies were highest for children under 9 years. The discrepancies were no longer significant at the second assessment. The level of children�s self reported PTSD symptoms decreased significantly over time. Conclusions: The reported parent-child discrepancy indicate that information about children�s Post-traumatic Stress reactions after an accident, is best obtained directly from the children.