Psychological Interventions in Children After Road Traffic Accidents or Burns: a Randomized Controlled Study

Within a randomized controlled design the effects of a brief early psychological intervention (child, parents) after road traffic accidents or burns shall be examined in a sample of 120 children and adolescents (aged 2 to 16 years). During the first seven days after the accident a screening for the risk of developing a posttraumatic stress disorder is conducted to divide the participants into a "high risk" and a "low risk" group. Participants with a low risk are excluded from the intervention study but reassessed six months after their accident to validate the screening instrument. After a baseline assessment within 14 days after the accident participants of the high risk group are randomly assigned to an intervention group (n = 60) or a control group (n = 60). The latter receive standard medical care. Children of the intervention group are provided with a brief age appropriate two-session intervention that includes a detailed reconstruction of the accident, psychoeducation and discussion of helpful coping strategies. Both the control and the intervention group are reassessed by blind raters at 3 and 6 months after the accident. Assessment of outcome includes measures of posttraumatic stress symptoms, depression, anxiety, behavior, and health-related quality of life.