An overview of the Peritraumatic Distress Scale

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) occurs when significant intrusion, avoidance, and hyperarousal symptoms are manifest for at least 1 month following exposure to a traumatic event, with at least 1 month following exposure to a traumatic event, with at least 1 month elapsed betwenn the event and the diagnossis (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, 1994 [DSM-IV]). 1 However, such symptoms are not necessarily manifest in the immediate aftermath of the trauman, 2 nor does their intial presence strongly predict who will develop PTSD. 3 One immediate response to trauma which has been convicingly linked to PTSD symptoms is peritraumatic dissociation. 4 In this poster, we briefly introduce a new scale assessing immediate responses distinct from peritraumatic dissociation, and we examine its power to predict PTSD symptoms.