Abstract
Eighty-five adults seeking mental health assistance six months after the Oklahoma City bombing were assessed to determine which of three groups of variables (exposure, peri-traumatic responses, and social support) predicted development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Variables most highly associated with subsequent PTSD symptoms included having been injured (among exposure variables), feeling nervous or afraid (peri-traumatic responses), and responding that counseling helped (support variables). Combining primary predictors in the three areas, PTSD symptoms were more likely to occur in those reporting counseling to help and those feeling nervous or afraid at the time of the bombing. Implications of these findings are discussed for behavioral health administrators and clinicians planning service delivery to groups of victims seeking mental health intervention after terrorist attacks and other disasters.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Van der Ploeg, HM, Kleijn, WC: Being held hostage in the Netherlands: A study of long-term aftereffects.Journal of Traumatic Stress 1989; 2:153–169.
Yehuda R, Kahana B, Schmeidler J, et al: Impact of cumulative lifetime trauma and recent stress on current posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in Holocaust survivors.American Journal of Psychiatry 1995; 152:1815–1818.
Kluznick JC, Speed N, Van Valkenburg C, et al.: Forty-year follow-up of United States prisoners of war.American Journal of Psychiatry 1986; 143:1443–1446.
Breslau N, Davis GC, Andreski P, et al.: Traumatic events and posttraumatic stress disorder in an urban population of young adults.Archives of General Psychiatry 1991; 48:216–222.
Desivilya HS, Gal R, Ayalon O: Extent of victimization, traumatic stress symptoms, and adjustment of terrorist assault survivors: A long-term follow-up.Journal of Traumatic Stress 1996; 9:881–889.
Robinson S, Hemmendinger J, Netanel R, et al.: Retraumatization of Holocaust survivors during the Gulf War and SCUD missile attacks on Israel.British Journal of Medical Psychology 1994; 67:353–362.
Helzer JE, Robins LN, McEvoy L: Posttraumatic stress disorder in the general population.New England Journal of Medicine 1987; 317:1630–1634.
Schnurr PP, Friedman MJ, Rosenberg SD: Premilitary MMPI scores as predictors of combat related PTSD symptoms.American Journal of Psychiatry 1993; 150:479–483.
Kaniasty K, Norris FH: A test of the social support deterioration model in the context of natural disaster.Journal of Personality & Social Psychology 1993; 64:395–408.
Taylor AJW, Frazer AG: The stress of post-disaster body handling and victim identification work.Journal of Human Stress 1982; 4–12.
Bolin, RC:Long-Term Family Recovery from Disaster. Denver, CO: University of Colorado Press, 1982.
Hansson RO, Nouelles D, Bellorich SJ: Knowledge, warning and stress: A study of comparative roles in an urban floodplain.Environmental Behavior 1982; 14:171–185.
Gleser GC, Green BL, Winget C:Prolonged Psychological Effects of Disaster: A Study of Buffalo Creek. New York: Academic Press, 1985.
North CS, Nixon SJ, Shariat S, et al: Psychiatric disorders among survivors of the Oklahoma City Bombing.Journal of the American Medical Association 1999; 282:755–762.
North CS, Smith EM, Spitznagel EL: Posttraumatic stress disorder in survivors of a mass shooting.American Journal of Psychiatry 1994; 151:82–88.
Lopez-Ibor JJ, Soria J, Canas F, et al: Psychopathological aspects of the toxic oil syndrome catastrophe.British Journal of Psychiatry 1985; 147:352–365.
Abenhaim L, Dab W, Salmi LR: Study of civilian victims of terrorist attacks (France 1982–1987).Journal of Clinical Epidemiology 1992; 45:103–109.
Cowan ME, Murphy SA: Identification of postdisaster bereavement risk predictors.Nursing Research 1985; 34:71–75.
Solomon SD, Smith EM, Robins LN, et al.: Social involvement as a mediator of disaster-induced stress.Journal of Applied Social Psychology 1987; 17:1092–1112.
Bennet G: Controlled survey of effects on health of local community disaster.British Medical Journal 1970; 3:454–458.
Koopman C, Classen C, Spiegel D: Predictors of posttraumatic stress symptoms among survivors of the Oakland/Berkeley, Calif., firestorm.American Journal of Psychiatry 1994; 151:888–894.
Marmar CR, Weiss DS, Schlenger WE, et al.: Peri-traumatic dissociation and posttraumatic stress in male Vietnam theater veterans.American Journal of Psychiatry 1994; 151:902–907.
Tucker P, Dickson W, Pfefferbaum B, et al: Traumatic reactions as predictors of posttraumatic stress six months after the Oklahoma City bombing.Psychiatric Services 1997; 48:1191–1194.
Wang A, Pynoos RS, James Q, et al:Los Angeles Earthquake, 1994: School District Reduction of Trauma Effects. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York City, May 1994.
Freedy JR, Kilpatrick DG, Resnick HS: Natural disasters and mental health: Theory, assessment, and intervention.Journal of Social Behavior and Personality 1993; 8:49–103.
Weiss, DS, Marmar, CR: The Impact of Event Scale-Revised. In: Wilson, JP, Keane, TM (Eds.):Assessing Psychological Trauma and PTSD. New York: Guilford, 1997, pp. 399–411.
Horowitz M, Wilner N, Alvarez W: Impact of event scale: A measure of subjective stress.Psychosomatic Medicine 1979; 41:209–218.
Johnsen BH, Eid J, Lovstad T: Posttraumatic stress symptoms in nonexposed, victims, and spontaneous rescuers after an avalanche.Journal of Traumatic Stress 1997; 10:133–140.
Marmar CR, Weiss DS, Metzler TJ, et al.: Stress responses of emergency services personnel to the Loma Prieta earthquake Interstate 880 freeway collapse and control traumatic incidents.Journal of Traumatic Stress 1996; 9:63–85.
Shalev AY: Posttraumatic stress disorder among injured survivors of a terrorist attack. Predictive value of early intrusion and avoidance symptoms.Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease 1992; 180:505–509.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tucker, P., Pfefferbaum, B., Nixon, S.J. et al. Predictors of post-traumatic stress symptoms in oklahoma city: Exposure, social support, peri-traumatic responses. The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research 27, 406–416 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02287822
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02287822