A COMPARISON OF POSTTRAUMATIC-STRESS-DISORDER IN VETERANS WITH AND WITHOUT SPINAL-CORD INJURY

The authors assessed effects of paraplegic and quadriplegic spinal cor d injuries (SCIs) on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by comparing severity and prevalence of PTSD in these groups to a sample of contro ls who experienced traumatic injuries other than SCI. The authors foun d that veterans with quadriplegia reported significantly less severe c urrent PTSD symptoms than controls who were not significantly differen t from veterans with paraplegia. These results suggest that sustaining a quadriplegic SCI decreases risk of current PTSD, whereas sustaining a paraplegic SCI is associated with greater risk of PTSD, although th e risk is no greater than that incurred from experiencing the trauma i tself.