An investigation of the factors associated with an increased risk of psychological morbidity in burn injured patients

Previous research aimed at identifying factors that increase the risk of major burns patients experiencing psychological problems post-burn has generally ignored the potential role of psychological factors. In a prospective study, patients with burn injuries ranging from < 1 per cent up to 40 per cent were interviewed within 2 weeks of sustaining the burn and followed up at ca 3 months post-burn in order to assess the effects of both non-psychological and psychological factors on their subsequent mental health. The factors investigated included burn related information, demographic information, previous psychiatric history, levels of psychological morbidity at 2 weeks post-burn, responsibility for the injury, previous life events, compensation claims and factors from the coping literature including appraisal, coping strategies and coping efficacy. Forward stepwise multiple regression analyses were used to investigate the relationships between these factors and subsequent mental health. Post-burn psychological morbidity was strongly associated with psychological factors including levels of psychological morbidity in the first 2 weeks of sustaining the injury and factors from the coping literature.