Journal
PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAUMA-THEORY RESEARCH PRACTICE AND POLICY
Volume 11, Issue 3, Pages 328-336Publisher
EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING FOUNDATION-AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOC
DOI: 10.1037/tra0000366
Keywords
posttraumatic stress disorder; gender; age; motor vehicle accident
Categories
Funding
- NIH [R01MH62042, K01MH110647]
- National Center for Advancing Translational Science [KL2TR001432-01, UL1TR001409]
- Merck Co.
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Objective: Women have a greater overall risk of developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than men after exposure to trauma. In addition to gender, other sociodemographic factors have been identified as risk factors for PTSD; however, research has typically examined these factors separately. Age has been found to contribute to the development of psychiatric disorders, and both linear and curvilinear relationships have been reported between age and risk of developing PTSD. Recent research has suggested that this relationship may vary depending on gender. Method: We performed a secondary analysis of data from a prospective study of 287 (164 men, 123 women) motor vehicle accident (MVA) patients (aged 18-81) who completed clinical interviews 6 weeks, 6 months, and/or 1 year after an MVA. Results: Overall, women developed more severe PTSD symptoms than men; however, gender differences were small in the young (18-24 years) and the old (55 and older) groups. In women, age was not associated with PTSD symptoms at 6 weeks and 6 months; however, age was curvilinearly associated with PTSD severity at 1-year post-MVA such that middle-aged women reported greater symptom severity than younger and older women. Prior trauma exposure and social support mediated this relationship. In men. PTSD severity was not associated with age, but was related to income and social support. Conclusions: These findings highlight age-based subgroups of women at elevated risk for PTSD following a traumatic injury and suggest that psychosocial intervention with middle-aged women following trauma exposure may help reduce the risk of persistent PTSD symptoms.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available