Table 1. Sample, traumatic event and emergency department treatment characteristics of study participants by treatment condition.
| Sample characteristics |
Intervention (n=37) |
Control (n=34) |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | S.d. | Mean | S.d. | |
| Age (years) | 38.9 | 16.1 | 40.5 | 16.8 |
| Years in education | 15.9 | 3.3 | 15.2 | 3.2 |
| n | % | n | % | |
| Gender | ||||
| Female | 20 | 54.1 | 17 | 50.0 |
| Male | 17 | 45.9 | 17 | 50.0 |
| Ethnicity group | ||||
| White British | 28 | 75.7 | 28 | 82.4 |
| Ethnic minority | 9 | 24.3 | 6 | 17.6 |
| Marital status | ||||
| Single | 18 | 48.6 | 17 | 50.0 |
| Married or cohabiting | 17 | 45.9 | 14 | 41.2 |
| Divorced | 2 | 5.4 | 2 | 5.9 |
| Widowed | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2.9 |
| Employment status | ||||
| Employed | 26 | 70.3 | 24 | 70.6 |
| Unemployed | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2.9 |
| Student | 7 | 18.9 | 5 | 14.7 |
| Retired | 4 | 10.8 | 4 | 11.8 |
| n | % | n | % | |
| Traumatic event | ||||
| DSM-IV PTSD criterion A1 | 37 | 100 | 34 | 100 |
| Experienced event | 37 | 100 | 34 | 100 |
| Witnessed event | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brought in by ambulance | 29 | 78.4 | 25 | 73.5 |
| Type of motor vehicle accident | ||||
| Car/van/bus driver | 19 | 51.4 | 13 | 38.2 |
| Car/van passenger | 0 | 0 | 4 | 11.8 |
| Motorcyclist | 6 | 16.2 | 5 | 14.7 |
| Cyclist | 12 | 32.4 | 8 | 23.5 |
| Pedestrian | 0 | 0 | 4 | 11.8 |
| Perceived life threat to self (score>0) | 31 | 83.8 | 31 | 91.2 |
| Perceived life threat to other (score>0) | 16 | 43.2 | 19 | 55.9 |
| Mean | S.d. | Mean | S.d. | |
| Perceived life threat to self | 5.19 | 3.20 | 5.56 | 3.23 |
| Perceived life threat to someone else | 2.22 | 3.25 | 3.56 | 3.99 |
| Time since traumatic event (min) | 192 | 69 | 211 | 67 |
| Injury Severity Score | 1.46 | 2.34 | 1.97 | 2.10 |
| PDEQ score | 19.86 | 8.02 | 19.18 | 8.40 |
| PDI score | 18.70 | 10.36 | 16.59 | 10.34 |
| n | % | n | % | |
| Treatment in emergency department | ||||
| Location in emergency department | ||||
| Resuscitation | 8 | 21.6 | 6 | 17.6 |
| Majors | 11 | 27.9 | 15 | 44.1 |
| Minors/other | 18 | 48.6 | 13 | 38.2 |
| Admitted as in-patient | 10 | 27.0 | 10 | 29.4 |
| Received opiate medication | 8 | 21.6 | 9 | 26.5 |
| n | % | n | % | |
| History of trauma and mental illness | ||||
| Prior psychological trauma | 28 | 77.8 | 24 | 70.6 |
| Current/past mental illness | 6 | 16.2 | 6 | 17.6 |
| Family history of mental illness | 10 | 27.8 | 7 | 20.6 |
| Number of previous emergency department attendances in last year | ||||
| 0 | 31 | 83.8 | 26 | 76.5 |
| 1–4 | 6 | 16.2 | 8 | 23.5 |
Abbreviations: DSM-IV, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition; PDEQ, Peritraumatic Dissociative Experiences Questionnaire; PDI, Peritraumatic Distress Inventory; PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder.