NCJ Number
197329
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 47 Issue: 5 Dated: September 2002 Pages: 1093-1100
Date Published
September 2002
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This study examined the prevalence of acute traumatic dissociative responses in a group of 115 law enforcement officers who had been involved in critical incidents.
Abstract
The officers were retrospectively surveyed for the presence of dissociative symptoms at the time of the critical incident, as well as for the presence of acute stress symptoms and posttraumatic stress symptoms. The measurement instrument was a retrospective self-report trauma survey developed by one of the authors. A total of 31 dichotomously scored items were used to measure potential dissociative experiences during a critical incident, and 9 dichotomously scored items were used to score a respondent's memory of the incident. Current DSM-IV criteria were used to define acute stress disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder, with one exception. The researchers considered posttraumatic stress symptoms and disorder to be present when subjects reported symptoms that lasted longer than 6 months. Acute stress symptoms and disorder were considered to be present when symptoms lasted more than 2 days but less than 6 months. The survey findings indicate that 90 percent of the officers reported experiencing a dissociative response during the critical incident. Thirty percent met the Dissociative Criterion B of acute stress disorder under the DSM-IV. The mean number of dissociative symptoms in this group was two and one-half. In addition, 19 percent of the officers reported varying forms of memory impairment regarding details of the incident; however, there were no reports of amnesia for the entire event. The clinical, forensic, and legal implications of these preliminary findings are discussed. 2 tables, 44 references, and appended outline of DSM-IV acute stress disorder symptoms and a list of the memory items in the questionnaire