Effects of attribution of responsibility for motor vehicle accidents on severity of PTSD symptoms, ways of coping, and recovery over six months

In light of Delahanty er al.'s (1997) identification of attribution of resp onsibility for a motor vehicle accident (MVA) as a powerful determinant of initial level of distress from the trauma and of early remission of PTSD, w e reexamined data from Blanchard and Hickling's (1997) prospective follow-u p of 158 MVA survivors. Despite differences between the two samples (Delaha nty sample recruited from hospitals 2-3 weeks post-MVA and predominantly ma le; our sample recruited from outpatient care 1-4 months post-MVA and predo minantly female) we replicated Delahanty findings: those with PTSD who blam e themselves for the MVA are less symptomatic initially and recover more ra pidly in the first 6 months than those with PTSD who blame another part for the accident.