Am J Psychiatry 1996; 153:1325-1328
Copyright © 1996 by American Psychiatric Association
PTSD in relation to dissociation in traumatized police officers
IV Carlier, RD Lamberts, AJ Fouwels and BP Gersons
Department of Psychiatry, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
OBJECTIVE: The assumed relationship between dissociation and symptoms of
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was examined. METHOD: From a group of
police officers who had experienced a traumatic event, the authors assessed
the chronic dissociative symptoms of 42 police officers with PTSD, 50
police officers with partial PTSD, and 50 police officers who experienced
no PTSD symptoms after the trauma. RESULTS: Police officers with PTSD, as
well as those with partial PTSD, exhibited significantly more dissociative
symptoms than police officers without PTSD symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The study
shows that it is quite probable that PTSD and partial PTSD predict
dissociation and not the other way around.
