Interesting acute stress disorder facts

Acute stress disorder facts

This page contains 30 interesting Acute Stress Disorder facts (ASD). ASD is a common, temporary mental health condition often experienced after a traumatic event, such as a traffic accident, robbery, or physical abuse. Feelings of anxiety, fear, powerlessness, and helplessness frequently accompany such experiences. ASD is characterized by re-experiencing the traumatic event and avoiding reminders of it. If not managed appropriately, ASD can develop into Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Although reliable data on ASD is limited compared to other mental disorders like depression or PTSD, this page provides a comprehensive overview of key ASD facts, all supported by scientific literature.

Go to:

At Barends Psychology Practice acute stress disorder treatment is offered. Go to contact us to schedule a first, free session.

Acute Stress Disorder Facts – Prevalence

Between 21% and 23.6% of adults develop ASD after experiencing a traumatic event [11].
Among children and adolescents involved in traffic accidents, 8% to 24% (excluding dissociation) meet the criteria for ASD, and 14% exhibit subsyndromal ASD [13],[18].
Additionally, 40% of adolescent trauma survivors meet the criteria for ASD, with their quality of life significantly negatively impacted [21].
Women are diagnosed with ASD more frequently than men (23% versus 8%). Of these, 57% of men and 92% of women develop PTSD six months later [10].
The nature of traumatic events for women—such as sexual assault and childhood sexual abuse—is often more extreme, increasing the likelihood of developing both ASD and PTSD [3].
In contrast, men are more likely to report traumatic events like accidents, non-sexual assault, war, combat, serious illness, or witnessing death or injury [3].

Acute Stress Disorder Facts – Exposed Disaster Workers

Disaster workers exposed to the 9/11 attacks had higher rates of ASD compared to the general population (25.6% versus 2.4%) [1].
Younger disaster workers were more likely to develop ASD than older ones [1].
Unmarried disaster workers were 2.26 times more likely to develop ASD than their married counterparts [1].
Those with ASD were 7.33 times more likely to develop PTSD than those without ASD [1].

Acute Stress Disorder Facts – Symptoms and Risk Factors

More than half of individuals with ASD experience panic symptoms and score higher on the anxiety sensitivity index than those without ASD [4]. This suggests that peritraumatic panic could be linked to PTSD.
In children, key predictors of ASD include the level of disorganization in their trauma narrative and their cognitive appraisals of the event [5].
Three aspects of trauma narrative disorganization—repetition, non-consecutive chunks, and coherence—predict ASD and PTSD in adults and may persist even after ASD resolves [7].
People with ASD often hold more negative beliefs about themselves and report higher anxiety levels than those without ASD [8].

Peritraumatic dissociation is a stronger predictor of PTSD in females than males [10], though the reasons remain unclear.
Perceived social control and negative social support are significant predictors of ASD and PTSD [11]. Studies show that family cohesion and expressiveness are associated with less psychological distress and fewer ASD symptoms [12].
Both ASD and PTSD have been linked to conditions like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, gastrointestinal issues, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and musculoskeletal disorders. Notably, the connection between cardiovascular disease and psychological trauma exposure is strong and consistent across populations [2].

Acute Stress Disorder – ASD in Relation to PTSD

ASD is a predictor of PTSD in both children and adolescents [13] and adults [14],[15]. However, greater emphasis on re-experiencing, avoidance, and arousal symptoms increases its predictive power [14].
A 2011 systematic review suggests that ASD predicts PTSD but is not fully reliable in identifying who will develop PTSD [16]. Expanding the range of initial reactions considered could improve predictions.

Acute Stress Disorder Facts – Treatment

Adolescents treated for ASD soon after trauma experience significant quality-of-life improvements [21].
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and CBT-hypnosis significantly reduce posttraumatic stress symptoms, with CBT-hypnosis particularly effective for re-experiencing symptoms [6].
Early trauma-focused CBT (TFCBT) can prevent complex PTSD in individuals with ASD [9],[17].
Exposure therapy significantly reduces ASD symptoms, with only 12% meeting PTSD criteria by the end of treatment [17].
EMDR, TFCBT, and exposure therapy are the treatments of choice for ASD and PTSD [17],[18].

Acute Stress Disorder Facts – Workplace

ASD can occur in the workplace, especially after incidents like bullying or accidents. Research links role conflict to workplace bullying, which can result in PTSD symptoms [22].
A literature review found that 57% of workplace bullying victims scored above the threshold for PTSD criteria [23].
15.8% of family physicians in Lithuania scored above the PTSD cut-off thresholds, highlighting a significant prevalence among this group [24].
A study commissioned by the NSW Judicial Commission, which interviewed over 600 judges across Australia, found that one-third of them should be tested for PTSD due to high levels of psychological stress. The study revealed that judges experience more stress compared to the general population, with a significant percentage resorting to alcohol as a coping mechanism. Female judges and magistrates in lower courts face more stress than their male colleagues and those in higher courts [25].
Research indicates that acute stress disorder significantly and positively predicts the emotional exhaustion and depersonalization dimensions of job burnout among primary and secondary school teachers. The study also found that a sense of control was negatively associated with job burnout, suggesting that maintaining a moderate sense of control can help alleviate the effects of acute stress disorder on teachers’ job burnout [26].
A systematic review identified various occupational traumatic events, such as natural or man-made disasters, explosions, accidents, handling refugee corpses, or workplace bullying, as significant risk factors for developing PTSD. The risk of PTSD was closely associated with working conditions, severity of injury, history of mental disorders, occurrence of psychiatric symptoms at the time of the event, personality, and interpersonal relationships [27].

Literature

[1] Fullerton, C. S., Ursano, R. J., & Wang, L. (2004). Acute stress disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, and depression in disaster or rescue workers. American Journal of Psychiatry, 161, 1370-1376.
[2] Boscarino, J. A. (2004). Posttraumatic stress disorder and physical illness: results from clinical and epidemiologic studies. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1032, 141-153.
[3] Tolin, D. F., & Foa, E. B. (2006). Sex differences in trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder: a quantitative review of 25 years of research. Psychological bulletin, 132, 959.
[4] Bryant, R. A., & Panasetis, P. (2001). Panic symptoms during trauma and acute stress disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 39, 961-966.
[5] Salmond, C. H., Meiser‐Stedman, R., Glucksman, E., Thompson, P., Dalgleish, T., & Smith, P. (2011). The nature of trauma memories in acute stress disorder in children and adolescents. Journal of Child
Psychology and Psychiatry, 52, 560-570.
[6] Bryant, R. A., Moulds, M. L., Guthrie, R. M., & Nixon, R. D. (2005). The additive benefit of hypnosis and cognitive-behavioral therapy in treating acute stress disorder. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73, 334.
[7] Jones, C., Harvey, A. G., & Brewin, C. R. (2007). The organisation and content of trauma memories in survivors of road traffic accidents. Behaviour research and therapy, 45, 151-162.
[8] Nixon, R. D., & Bryant, R. A. (2005). Are negative cognitions associated with severe acute trauma responses? Behaviour Change, 22, 22-28.
[9] Kornør, H., Winje, D., Ekeberg, Ø., Weisæth, L., Kirkehei, I., Johansen, K., & Steiro, A. (2008). Early trauma-focused cognitive-behavioural therapy to prevent chronic post-traumatic stress disorder and related symptoms: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC psychiatry, 8, 81.

Literature – part 2

[10] Bryant, R. A., & Harvey, A. G. (2003). Gender differences in the relationship between acute stress disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder following motor vehicle accidents. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 37, 226-229.
[11] Holeva, V., Tarrier, N., & Wells, A. (2001). Prevalence and predictors of acute stress disorder and PTSD following road traffic accidents: Thought control strategies and social support. Behavior Therapy, 32, 65-83.
[12] Shaw, R. J., Deblois, T., Ikuta, L., Ginzburg, K., Fleisher, B., & Koopman, C. (2006). Acute stress disorder among parents of infants in the neonatal intensive care nursery. Psychosomatics, 47, 206-212.
[13] Meiser-Stedman, R., Yule, W., Smith, P., Glucksman, E., & Dalgleish, T. (2005). Acute stress disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder in children and adolescents involved in assaults or motor vehicle accidents. American Journal of Psychiatry, 162, 1381-1383.
[14] Harvey, A. G., & Bryant, R. A. (2000). Two-year prospective evaluation of the relationship between acute stress disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder following mild traumatic brain injury. American Journal of Psychiatry, 157, 626-628.
[15] Classen, C., Koopman, C., Hales, R., & Spiegel, D. (1998). Acute stress disorder as a predictor of posttraumatic stress symptoms. American Journal of Psychiatry, 155, 620-624.
[16] Bryant, R. A. (2011). Acute stress disorder as a predictor of posttraumatic stress disorder: a systematic review. The Journal of clinical psychiatry.
[17] Ponniah, K., & Hollon, S. D. (2009). Empirically supported psychological treatments for adult acute stress disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder: a review. Depression and anxiety, 26, 1086-1109.

Literature – part 3

[18] Forbes, D., Creamer, M., Phelps, A., Bryant, R., McFarlane, A., Devilly, G. J., … & Newton, S. (2007). Australian guidelines for the treatment of adults with acute stress disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 41, 637-648.
[19] Kassam-Adams, N., & Winston, F. K. (2004). Predicting child PTSD: The relationship between acute stress disorder and PTSD in injured children. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 43, 403-411.
[20] McKibben, J. B., Bresnick, M. G., Wiechman Askay, S. A., & Fauerbach, J. A. (2008). Acute stress disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder: a prospective study of prevalence, course, and predictors in a sample with major burn injuries. Journal of burn care & research, 29, 22-35.
[21] Holbrook, T. L., Hoyt, D. B., Coimbra, R., Potenza, B., Sise, M., & Anderson, J. P. (2005). High rates of acute stress disorder impact quality-of-life outcomes in injured adolescents: mechanism and gender predict acute stress disorder risk. Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, 59, 1126-1130.
[22] Chenevert, M., Vignoli, M., Conway, P. M., & Balducci, C. (2022). Workplace bullying and post-traumatic stress disorder symptomology: the influence of role conflict and the moderating effects of neuroticism and managerial competencies. International journal of environmental research and public health, 19(17), 10646.
[23] Arzt, N. (2019). Victim of long-term bullying or harassment and PTSD. American Addiction Centers. https://americanaddictioncenters. org/trauma-stressorrelated-disorders/effects-being-bullied-harassed, 15(319), 263-277.

Literature – part 4

[24] Malinauskiene, V., & Einarsen, S. (2014). Workplace bullying and post-traumatic stress symptoms among family physicians in Lithuania: an occupation and region specific approach. International journal of occupational medicine and environmental health, 27, 919-932.
[25] Schrever, C., O’Sullivan, K., Kemp, R., Hunter, J., Burns, K., Henning, T., Skead, N., Vines, P., Warner, H., Braico, H., Piggott, M., Williams, C., & Roach Anleu, S. (2024). Preliminary findings from a large-scale national study measuring judicial officers’ psychological reactions to their work and workplace. Judicial Officers Bulletin, 36(6), 53–59. https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.T2024072100000191101304839.
[26] Zhen, B., Yao, B. & Zhou, X. Acute stress disorder and job burnout in primary and secondary school teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic: The moderating effect of sense of control. Curr Psychol 42, 19853–19860 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03134-7
[27] Lee, W., Lee, YR., Yoon, JH. et al. Occupational post-traumatic stress disorder: an updated systematic review. BMC Public Health 20, 768 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-08903-2.