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This 4-year prospective study (N=662) of victims of a fireworks disaster examines the independent predictive value of peritraumatic dissociation for self-reported intrusions, avoidance reactions, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity at both 18-months (T2) and almost 4-years postdisaster (T3). Peritraumatic dissociation was measured 2-3 weeks after the disaster (T1). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that peritraumatic dissociation was not a strong independent predictor for intrusions and avoidance reactions and PTSD symptom severity at T2 or at T3 above initial intrusions, avoidance reactions, and psychological distress (T1). Results suggest that an early screening procedure for peritraumatic dissociation, which is aimed at identifying disaster victims who are at risk for long-term psychological disturbances can be omitted.

Research about attentional functioning following trauma has almost exclusively been performed in patient populations with combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In this study the relationship between sustained attention and PTSD symptoms was examined in a community sample of survivors of a major disaster using the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (PASAT) and the Self-Rating Scale for PTSD (SRS-PTSD) 2-3 years postdisaster. Analyses revealed low but significant partial correlations between PTSD symptoms and the least difficult subtests, ruling out the effects of age, education, depressive symptomatology, and sleep disturbances. These results demonstrate that PTSD symptoms link to attentional dysfunction 2-3 years postdisaster.