The majority of adults in the United States will experience a potentially traumatic event during their lifetime, yet only a subset will develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The trajectory of symptoms in the period of time immediately following the trauma (the acute post-trauma period) may be important in determining which individuals develop PTSD. The current study examined trajectories of PTSD symptom severity across the acute post-trauma period and if membership in these trajectories was predictive of PTSD symptom severity, depression symptoms, and functional impairment 1- and 3-months post-trauma. Four trajectories were identified: low and decreasing, rapid decreasing, slow decreasing, and consistently high. Further, trajectory membership in the acute post-trauma period was found to predict differences in PTSD symptoms, depression symptoms, and functional impairment severity at both 1- and 3- months post-trauma. These findings highlight a relationship between PTSD symptoms during the acute post-trauma period and later impairment.

美国的大多数成年人在一生中都会经历潜在的创伤事件，但只有一小部分人会患上创伤后应激障碍 (PTSD)。紧接创伤后一段时间（急性创伤后时期）的症状轨迹对于确定哪些个体发展为 PTSD 可能很重要。目前的研究检查了创伤后急性期 PTSD 症状严重程度的轨迹，如果这些轨迹的成员资格可以预测创伤后 1 个月和 3 个月的 PTSD 症状严重程度、抑郁症状和功能障碍。确定了四个轨迹：低和下降、快速下降、缓慢下降和持续高。此外，发现急性创伤后时期的轨迹成员可以预测 PTSD 症状的差异，创伤后 1 个月和 3 个月的抑郁症状和功能障碍严重程度。这些发现强调了急性创伤后时期的 PTSD 症状与后来的损伤之间的关系。