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Degree of exposure and peritraumatic dissociation as determinants of PTSD symptoms in the aftermath of the Ghislenghien gas explosion

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De Soir, Erik [Ecole royale militaire, Brussels, Belgium] Zech, Emmanuelle [UCL] Versporten, Ann [University of Antwerp, Belgium] Van Oyen, Herman [Scientific institute of public health, Brussels, Belgium] Kleber, Rolf [Utrecht university, the Netherlands] van der Hart, Onno [Utrecht university, the Netherlands]

Background This paper investigates risk factors for the development of posttraumatic stress symptoms in the different survivor groups involved in a technological disaster in Ghislenghien (Belgium). A gas explosion instantly killed five firefighters, one police officer and 18 other people. Moreover, 132 people were wounded among which many suffered severe burn injuries. Methods In the framework of a large health survey of people potentially involved in the disaster, data were collected from 3,448 households, of which 7,148 persons aged 15 years and older, at 5 months (T1) and at 14 months (T2) after the explosion. Hierarchical regression was used to determine the significant predictors and to assess their proportion in variance accounted for. Results The degree of exposure to the disaster was a predictor of the severity of posttraumatic stress symptoms. Peritraumatic dissociation appeared to be the most important predictor of the development of posttraumatic stress symptoms at T1. But at T2, posttraumatic stress symptoms at T1 had become the most important predictor. Dissatisfaction with social support was positively linked to development of posttraumatic stress symptoms at T1 and to the maintenance of these symptoms at T2. Survivors who received psychological help reported significant benefits. Conclusions In harmony with the findings from studies on technological disasters, at T1 6,0% of the respondents showed sufficient symptoms to meet all criteria for a full PTSD. At T2, 6,6% still suffered from posttraumatic stress symptoms. The symptoms of the different victim categories clearly indicated the influence of the degree of exposure on the development of posttraumatic stress symptoms. Problems inherent to retrospective scientific research after a disaster are discussed.

Document type Article de périodique (Journal article) – Article de recherche
Access type Accès libre
Publication date 2015
Language Anglais
Journal information "Archives of Public Health" - Vol. 73, no.1 (2015)
Peer reviewed yes
Publisher Institut Scientifique de Sante Publique
issn 0778-7367
e-issn 2049-3258
Publication status Publié
Affiliation UCL - SSH/IPSY - Psychological Sciences Research Institute
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Bibliographic reference De Soir, Erik ; Zech, Emmanuelle ; Versporten, Ann ; Van Oyen, Herman ; Kleber, Rolf ; et. al. Degree of exposure and peritraumatic dissociation as determinants of PTSD symptoms in the aftermath of the Ghislenghien gas explosion. In: Archives of Public Health, Vol. 73, no.1 (2015)
Permanent URL http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/158548