Abstract
BackgroundRoad traffic accidents (RTAs) are the leading health threat to children in Europe, resulting in 355 000 injuries annually. Because children can suffer significant and long-term mental health problems following RTAs, there is considerable interest in the development of early psychological interventions. To date, the research in this field is scarce, and currently no evidence-based recommendations can be made.MethodsTo evaluate the effectiveness of a single-session early psychological intervention, 99 children age 7-16 were randomly assigned to an intervention or control group. The manualised intervention was provided to the child and at least one parent around 10 days after the child's involvement in an RTA. It included reconstruction of the accident using drawings and accident-related toys, and psychoeducation. All of the children were interviewed at 10 days, 2 months and 6 months after the accident. Parents filled in questionnaires. Standardised instruments were used to assess acute stress disorder (ASD), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depressive symptoms and behavioural problems.ResultsThe children of the two study groups showed no significant differences concerning posttraumatic symptoms and other outcome variables at 2 or at 6 months. Interestingly, analyses showed a significant intervention × age-group effect, indicating that for preadolescent children the intervention was effective in decreasing depressive symptoms and behavioural problems.ConclusionsThis study is the first to show a beneficial effect of a single-session early psychological intervention after RTA in preadolescent children. Therefore, an age-specific approach in an early stage after RTAs may be a promising way for further research. Younger children can benefit from the intervention evaluated here. However, these results have to be interpreted with caution, because of small subgroup sizes. Future studies are needed to examine specific approaches for children and adolescents. Also, the intervention evaluated here needs to be studied in other groups of traumatised children.Trial RegistrationClinical Trial Registry: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00296842.
Highlights
Road traffic accidents (RTAs) are the leading health threat to children in Europe, resulting in 355 000 injuries annually
A recent study [11] identified early posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) as a significant predictor of low quality of life one year after an RTA in children; the researchers concluded that the return of injured children to pre-injury quality of life may depend on awareness and timely interventions regarding PTSS
Our results demonstrated that children in both the intervention and the control groups made the same significant improvements with regard to PTSS, depressive symptoms and behavioural problems between 10 days and 6 months after the RTA
Summary
Road traffic accidents (RTAs) are the leading health threat to children in Europe, resulting in 355 000 injuries annually. Because children can suffer significant and long-term mental health problems following RTAs, there is considerable interest in the development of early psychological interventions. Road traffic accidents (RTAs) represent the leading health threat to children in industrialised countries [1]. There is sound evidence today that children can suffer significant been shown to have a higher risk for PTSD than boys [9,10]. A recent study [11] identified early PTSS as a significant predictor of low quality of life one year after an RTA in children; the researchers concluded that the return of injured children to pre-injury quality of life may depend on awareness and timely interventions regarding PTSS
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
