Consistency of retrospective reports of peritraumatic responses and their relation to PTSD diagnostic status

Few studies have examined whether trauma-exposed individuals are consistent in their retrospective reports of how they reacted at the time of trauma exposure, and whether this phenomenon has any implications at the diagnostic level. In a series of three longitudinal studies (N = 113) with different timeframes, the authors prospectively investigated the consistency of peritraumatic response scores as a function of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnostic status. Across the three studies, consistency of scores was better among individuals who either did not develop PTSD or who remitted from it than among those whose PTSD did not remit. These results are consistent with the literature suggesting that compromised memory processes are related to sustained PTSD.