Screening and psychological debriefing of adolescent survivors of life-threatening events

There is a perceived need for schools and casualty departments to receive appropriate information and guidelines in order to minimise the effects of PTSD. A recommended screening battery for PTSD was administered at the start of a two-session debriefing and again three months later to a group of seven young survivors of a minibus accident. No studies using this screen other than those of shipping disasters have been reported to date. Screen scores were compared with those of survivors of the cruise ship Jupiter. No significant differences were found between minibus survivors when assessed at six months (before interention), and Jupiter survivors, who when assessed at five months had already undergone debriefing. Post-debriefing assessment of minibus survivors demonstrated significant reductions on all measures.