Posttraumatic nightmares and psychopathology in children after road traffic accidents

✍ Scribed by Lutz Wittmann; Daniel Zehnder; Michael Schredl; Oskar G. Jenni; Markus A. Landolt

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 2010
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 102 KB
• Volume: 23
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0894-9867
• DOI: 10.1002/jts.20514

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Posttraumatic nightmares are considered as a reexperiencing symptom of the DSM‐IV posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis. Different types of posttraumatic nightmares, however, may differ in their relation to psychopathology. Thirty‐two children were longitudinally assessed 10 days, 2 months, and 6 months after traffic accidents. Occurrence and characteristics of nightmares were examined and their relation to psychopathology assessed. Thirty‐four percent of children reported posttraumatic nightmares during at least one assessment. Exact replicative nightmares at baseline assessment predicted PTSD symptoms 2 and 6 months postaccident, but not depressive symptoms. Exact replicative nightmares revealed the strongest cross‐sectional association with trauma‐specific psychopathology but not with depression. The authors conclude that posttraumatic nightmares—especially exact replicative ones—may be closely related to psychopathological mechanisms of posttraumatic stress in children.