A-097 The Phenomenological Experience of Posttraumatic Stress Within an Electrical Injury Sample

Abstract

Abstract Objectives The symptom phenomenology of posttraumatic stress is poorly understood among electrical injury (EI) patients, despite the high prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnoses after EI. This study explored how EI patients experience posttraumatic stress using the 3 symptom-cluster subscales from the PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C). Method Cross-sectional analyses measured PTSD symptom severity and frequency using the PCL-C among 19 adult EI patients referred for neuropsychological evaluation. The sample was 79% male, 68.4% Caucasian, 15.8% African American, 15.8% Hispanic, with mean age of 46.3 years (SD = 8.45) and mean education of 12.3 years (SD = 2.6). Results Mean PCL-C total score was 54.3 (SD = 12.4, range: 31–76). Fifteen participants had total scores exceeding the recommended cut-score of ≥44, indicating that they met criteria for presumptive PTSD diagnoses. On average, Cluster D (hyperarousal) symptoms were the most severe (M = 3.5/5) followed by Cluster C (avoidance/numbing) (M = 3.3/5) and Cluster B (re-experiencing) (M = 2.8/5). The most frequently endorsed symptoms were loss of pleasure (84%), sleep disturbance (84%), and difficulty concentrating (84%), which also were the most severe symptoms (M = 4.0/5; M = 3.9/5; M = 4.0/5, respectively). The two symptoms endorsed least often were repeated disturbing dreams of the stressful experience (42%) and reexperiencing the traumatic event (37%), and they were also the least severe (M = 2.6/5; M = 2.3/5, respectively). Conclusions In EI patients, general symptoms of psychological distress were more prominent than more prototypical trauma-related symptoms (e.g., re-experiencing, intrusive thoughts). Future research should examine if these symptoms of distress are unique to EI patients’ experiences of posttraumatic stress compared to other clinical populations.