Traumatic Accidents

Accidents are one of the major causes of death in the United States (Lancaster, 1994). The most frequent causes of accidental injury and death are carelessness and ignorance; and the most common accidents are motor vehicle accidents, falls, drownings, and fires (Lancaster, 1994). However, in this modern day and age, severe injury has become the dire consequence of an ever-increasing number of industrial and mining accidents as well as sport-, military- and, on a global scope, even terror-related incidents (Badenhorst, 1990).

The review of research presented here examines the literature on severe, traumatic accidents---commonly defined as an accident that involves long-term or permanent physical debilitation (see: Di Gallo, Barton & Parry-Jones, 1997)---and the psychosocial and psychoemotional adjustment of victims. This literature is investigated in order to answer the following research questions:

1. What are the typical (normative) psychosocial and psychoemotional consequences associated with severe, traumatic accidents?

2. What factors are associated with successful and unsuccessful adjustment to severe, traumatic accidents?

3. What treatment strategies are used to increase adjustment levels of victims of severe, traumatic accidents?

The paper first reviews and summarizes the literature pertinent to each of the foregoing questions. Following this review, the paper presents a restatement of the questio

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sibly by generalization to at least some other victims of severe accidents). These difficulties involve a radically new sense of identity with some unrealistic notions that they will eventually be just like they were in the past. Factors Affecting Adjustment Children Byrne, Love and Browne (1986) examined for factors that facilitate the adjustment of children in severe traumatic accidents. It is noted by the authors that most of the literature in this area focuses primarily on the psychosocial adjustment of burned children who are doing poorly, without paying as much attention to those who are doing well---a fact that is said to highlight the need for a study that would identify the factors that inoculate the child from negative psychosocial outcomes or, at least, have a health-enhancing effect. Methods used in Byrne, Love and Browne's (1986) study involved the collection of socio-demographic and clinical data on 337 children admitted to a regional burn unit during a twelve-year period. Of these, 145 children were randomly selected and classified according to severity of burn - major or minor. Mothers of the children were given the Achenbach Behavioral Profile, the Psychological Adjustment Inventory Scale, and the Family
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Approximate Word count = 9648
Approximate Pages = 39 (250 words per page)

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