Acute posttraumatic stress symptoms and depression after exposure to the 2005 Saskatchewan Centennial Air Show disaster: Prevalence and predictors

Authors

  • Steven Taylor, PhD
  • Gordon J.G. Asmundson, PhD
  • R. Nicholas Carleton, MA
  • Peter Brundin, MA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5055/ajdm.2007.0031

Keywords:

Saskatchewan Air Show Disaster, posttraumatic stress, depression, anxiety sensitivity, acute stress, social support.

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of acute distress—that is, clinically significant posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and depression—and to identify predictors of each in a sample of people who witnessed a fatal aircraft collision at the 2005 Saskatchewan Centennial Air Show.
Design: Air Show attendees (N157) were recruited by advertisements in the local media and completed an Internet-administered battery of questionnaires.
Results: Based on previously established cut-offs, 22 percent respondents had clinically significant PTSS and 24 percent had clinically significant depressive symptoms. Clinically significant symptoms were associated with posttrauma impairment in social and occupational functioning. Acute distress was associated with several variables, including aspects of Air Show trauma exposure, severity of prior trauma exposure, low posttrauma social support (ie, negative responses by others), indices of poor coping (eg, intolerance of uncertainty, rumination about the trauma), and elevated scores on anxiety sensitivity, the personality trait of absorption, and dissociative tendencies.
Conclusions: Results suggest that clinically significant acute distress is common in the aftermath of witnessed trauma. The statistical predictors (correlates) of acute distress were generally consistent with the results of studies of other forms of trauma. People with elevated scores on theoretical vulnerability factors (eg, elevated anxiety sensitivity) were particularly likely to develop acute distress.

Author Biographies

Steven Taylor, PhD

Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, British Columbia, Canada.

Gordon J.G. Asmundson, PhD

The Traumatic Stress Group, Faculty of Kinesiology and Health Studies, University of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.

R. Nicholas Carleton, MA

Department of Psychology, University of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Peter Brundin, MA

The Traumatic Stress Group, University of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.

References

American Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 4th ed., text revision.Washington, DC: APA, 2000.

Galea S, Nandi A, Vlahov D: The epidemiology of post-traumatic stress disorder after disasters. Epidemiol Rev. 2005; 27(1): 78-91.

Dunmore E, Clark DM, Ehlers A: A prospective study of the role of cognitive factors in persistent posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after physical or sexual assault. Behav Res Ther. 2001; 39(9): 1063-1084.

Murray J, Ehlers A, Mayou RA: Dissociation and post-traumatic stress disorder: Two prospective studies of road traffic accident survivors. Br J Psychiatry. 2002; 180(4): 363-368.

Taylor S: Clinician’s Guide to PTSD: A Cognitive-Behavioral Approach. New York: Guilford, 2006.

Taylor S, Koch WJ,Woody S, et al.: Anxiety sensitivity and depression: How are they related? J Abnorm Psychol. 1996; 105(3): 474-479.

Pacholik B: Two die in air show collision.Available at http://www. canada.com/search/story.html?id=c5a936f4-70ab-4e7c-9766-0d577356a0f0. Accessed July 13, 2005.

Tellegen A, Atkinson G: Openness to absorbing and self-altering experiences (“absorption”), a trait related to hypnotic susceptibility. J Abnorm Psychol. 1974; 83(3): 268-277.

Duckworth MP, Iezzi T, Archibald Y, et al.: Dissociation and posttraumatic stress symptoms in patients with chronic pain. Int J Rehabil Health. 2000; 5(2): 129-139.

Engelhard IM, van den Hout MA, Kindt M, et al.: Peritraumatic dissociation and posttraumatic stress after pregnancy loss: A prospective study. Behav Res Ther. 2003; 41(1): 67-78.

National Institute for Clinical Excellence: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. London: Royal College of Psychiatrists and British Psychological Society, 2005.

National Child Traumatic Stress Network and National Center for PTSD: Psychological First-Aid.Washington, DC: National Child Traumatic Stress Network and National Center for PTSD, 2005.

Weathers FW, Litz BT, Huska JA, et al.: The PTSD Checklist- Civilian Version (PCL-C). Boston,MA:National Center for PTSD, 1994.

Radloff LS: The CES-D scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Appl Psychol Meas. 1977; 1(3): 385-401.

Sheehan DV: The Anxiety Disease. New York: Scribners, 1983.

Taylor S, Cox BJ: An expanded anxiety sensitivity index: Evidence for a hierarchic structure in a clinical sample. J Anxiety Disord. 1998; 12(5): 463-484.

Carleton RN, Norton PJ, Asmundson GJG: Fearing the unknown: A short version of the intolerance of uncertainty scale (IUS-12). J Anxiety Disord. 2007; 21(1): 105-177.

Bernstein EM, Putnam FW: Development, reliability and validity of a dissociation scale. J Nerv Ment Dis. 1986; 174(12): 727-734.

Blake D,Weathers FW, Nagy LM, et al.: Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (revised). Boston, MA: Behavioral Science Division, Boston National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, 1997.

Lang AJ, Laffaye C, Satz LE, et al.: Sensitivity and specificity of the PTSD checklist in detecting PTSD in female veterans in primary care. J Trauma Stress. 2003; 16(3): 257-264.

Boyd JH,Weissman MM, Thompson WD, et al.: Screening for depression in a community sample: Understanding discrepancies between depression symptom and diagnostic scales. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1982; 39(10): 1195-1200.

Waller N, Putnam FW, Carlson EB: Types of dissociation and dissociative types: A taxometric analysis of dissociative experiences. Psychol Methods. 1996; 1(3): 300-321.

Watson D: Investigating the construct validity of the dissociative taxon: Stability analyses of normal and pathological dissociation. J Abnorm Psychol. 2003; 112(2): 298-305.

Clohessy S, Ehlers A: PTSD symptoms, response to intrusive memories and coping in ambulance service workers. Br J Clin Psychol. 1999; 38(3): 251-265.

Nunnally JC, Bernstein IH: Psychometric Theory. 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1994.

Statistics Canada: Household Internet use survey. 2003.Available at http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030918/d030918b.htm. Accessed July 19, 2006.

Statistics Canada: Table 358-0002: Household Internet use survey, household Internet use by location of use, annual (percentage of households). 2003. Available at http://cansim2.statcan.ca/cgi-win/CNSMCGI.EXE. Accessed July 19, 2006.

Birnbaum MH: Human research and data collection via the Internet. Annu Rev Psychol. 2004; 55: 803-832.

Gosling SD, Vazire S, Srivastava S, et al.: Should we trust webbased studies? A comparative analysis of six preconceptions about Internet questionnaires. Am Psychol. 2004; 59(2): 93-104.

Dayton CM: Information criteria for pairwise comparisons. Psychol Methods. 2003; 8(1): 61-71.

Cribbie RA, Keselman HJ: Pairwise multiple comparisons: A model comparison approach versus stepwise procedures. Br J Math Stat Psychol. 2003; 56(1): 167-182.

Cribbie RA, Keselman HJ: The effects of nonnormality on parametric, nonparametric, and model comparison approaches to pairwise comparisons. Educ Psychol Meas. 2003; 63(4): 615-635.

Macklin ML, Metzger LJ, Litz BT, et al.: Lower pre-combat intelligence is a risk factor for posttraumatic stress disorder. J Consult Clin Psychol. 1998; 66(2): 323-326.

Statistics Canada: Secondary school graduates. 2005. Available at http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/050202/d050202b.htm. Accessed July 19, 2006.

MCCS Sponsorship Demographics (n.d.):Available at http://www.miramarairshow.com/Sponsorship/demographics.htm. Accessed May 11, 2007.

Cleveland National Air Show: 2004. Available at http://www.clevelandairshow.com/marketing/demographics.html. Accessed May 11, 2007.

Downloads

Published

09/01/2007

How to Cite

Taylor, PhD, S., G. J. Asmundson, PhD, R. N. Carleton, MA, and P. Brundin, MA. “Acute Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Depression After Exposure to the 2005 Saskatchewan Centennial Air Show Disaster: Prevalence and Predictors”. American Journal of Disaster Medicine, vol. 2, no. 5, Sept. 2007, pp. 217-30, doi:10.5055/ajdm.2007.0031.