Early self-reported post-traumatic stress symptoms after trauma exposure and associations with diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder at 3 months: latent profile analysis

BackgroundTrauma exposure can cause post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), and persistently experiencing PTSS may lead to the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Research has shown that PTSS that emerged within days of trauma was a robust predictor of PTSD development. AimsTo investigate patterns of early stress responses to trauma and their associations with development of PTSD. MethodWe recruited 247 civilian trauma survivors from a local hospital emergency department. The PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) and Acute Stress Disorder Scale (ASDS) were completed within 2 weeks after the traumatic event. Additionally, 3 months post-trauma 146 of these participants completed a PTSD diagnostic interview using the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5. ResultsWe first used latent profile analysis on four symptom clusters of the PCL-5 and the dissociation symptom cluster of the ASDS and determined that a four-profile model ('severe symptoms', 'moderate symptoms', 'mild symptoms', 'minimal symptoms') was optimal based on multiple fit indices. Gender was found to be predictive of profile membership. We then found a significant association between subgroup membership and PTSD diagnosis (chi(2)(3) = 11.85, P < 0.01, Cramer's V = 0.263). Post hoc analysis revealed that this association was driven by participants in the 'severe symptoms' profile, who had a greater likelihood of developing PTSD. ConclusionsThese findings fill the knowledge gap of identifying possible subgroups of individuals based on their PTSS severity during the early post-trauma period and investigating the relationship between subgroup membership and PTSD development, which have important implications for clinical practice.

Automated summary

By investigating the relationship between early stress response patterns and the development of PTSD, this study fills the knowledge gap of identifying individual subgroups based on the severity of post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) during the early post-trauma period, with important implications for clinical practice.