Disability and post-traumatic stress

Abstract

Comments on an article by Neal et al (see record 2004-11995-010) that examined the relationship between post-traumatic stress and disability. The authors found no association between post-traumatic stress and judgement of disability. Therefore, they concluded that the clinical importance of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and its symptoms may be questionable. However, in our opinion their conclusions need additional consideration. First, their multivariate analysis of variance compared the degree of disability of persons with PTSD with that of people with other mental health problems. Second, is it not strange to question disability in people with PTSD, major depressive disorder or alcohol dependence, while disability in social or professional functioning or in other important areas is a requirement for all DSM-IV diagnoses? (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)