The Herald of Free Enterprise disaster: the relationship of intrusion and avoidance to subsequent depression and anxiety.

Twenty-five survivors completed the Impact of Events Scale, a measure of intrusive reexperiencing and avoidant behaviour, approx. 7 months following the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship of scores on these scales to scores on the Beck Depression Inventory and the Spielberger State Anxiety Inventory at approx. 19 months subsequent to the event. Greater intrusive reexperiencing was found to be associated with greater depression and anxiety over and above the intensity of exposure and the fact of bereavement. These data are discussed with reference to a cognitive processing model of post-traumatic stress.