Onset of psychotraumatic reactions

This study was planned to examine the onset of the posttraumatic psychiatric reaction. Two hundred two injured persons were examined during two summers (1978 and 1979) at the Salzburg Accident Hospital, Austria. Eighty-six of 110 persons with posttraumatic psychiatric reactions developed their symptoms two weeks to two months after the injury. Ninety-two of the 110 showed irritability as the initial symptom.