Gender and age interact to predict the development of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms following a motor vehicle accident.

OBJECTIVE

Women have a greater overall risk of developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than men after exposure to trauma. In addition to gender, other sociodemographic factors have been identified as risk factors for PTSD; however, research has typically examined these factors separately. Age has been found to contribute to the development of psychiatric disorders, and both linear and curvilinear relationships have been reported between age and risk of developing PTSD. Recent research has suggested that this relationship may vary depending on gender.

METHOD

We performed a secondary analysis of data from a prospective study of 287 (164 men, 123 women) motor vehicle accident (MVA) patients (aged 18-81) who completed clinical interviews 6 weeks, 6 months, and/or 1 year after an MVA.

RESULTS

Overall, women developed more severe PTSD symptoms than men; however, gender differences were small in the young (18-24 years) and the old (55 and older) groups. In women, age was not associated with PTSD symptoms at 6 weeks and 6 months; however, age was curvilinearly associated with PTSD severity at 1-year post-MVA such that middle-aged women reported greater symptom severity than younger and older women. Prior trauma exposure and social support mediated this relationship. In men, PTSD severity was not associated with age, but was related to income and social support.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings highlight age-based subgroups of women at elevated risk for PTSD following a traumatic injury and suggest that psychosocial intervention with middle-aged women following trauma exposure may help reduce the risk of persistent PTSD symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).