Abstract :
Background Victims of violent assault
experience diverse post-event emotional problems
such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and
they may have multiple emotional problems. The aim
of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence
and predictors of PTSD in a longitudinal design.
Methods The levels of physical injury, perceived life
threat, prior experience of violence, peritraumatic
dissociation (PD), acute PTSD, perceived self-efficacy
and perceived social support are considered possible
predictors. This study had a single group (N = 70),
longitudinal design with three repeated measures over
a period of 12 months. Questionnaires used were:
Impact of Event Scale-15 and 22 (IES-15 and 22),
Post-Traumatic Symptom Scale-10 (PTSS-10), Peritraumatic
Dissociation (PD) 7-item self-report measure,
Social Provisions Scale (SPS) and Generalized
Self-Efficacy scale (GSE). Results Results showed a
high prevalence and severity of PTSD on all outcomes,
for instance 31% scored as probable PTSD-cases and
14% as risk level cases by IES-15 at T3. Either injury
severity or prior experience of being a victim of violence
predicted PTSD in this study. Early PTSD predicted
subsequent PTSD, and perceived life threat was
a predictor of PD. Furthermore, lack of perceived
social support was a predictor of PTSD symptoms at
T3. In addition, low perceived self-efficacy was a
predictor of PTSD and influenced perceived social
support at T1. Conclusions Our results showed that
experience of non-domestic violence may cause serious
chronic emotional problems, and therefore it is
important to be aware of early symptoms indicating
needs for special follow-ups.
