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Clinical Observations of Causers and Victims of Motor Vehicle Incidents: Brief Report

1 Como Avenue, South Yarra, Melbourne, Vic 3141, Australia, p.valent{at}bigpond.net.au

Motor vehicle incidents (MVIs) cause more death and injury than wars, acts of terrorism, and disasters put together. Their major cause is human error. The posttraumatic effects on victims of such errors have been well researched, but effects on the causers have not. The hypotheses of this study were that victims and causers of MVIs could be clinically distinguished and that such distinctions might be useful in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of MVIs. The results indicated two victim and two causer categories. The victim group contained posttraumatic-stress and vulnerable subgroups. The causer group contained antisocial and process-neurotic subgroups. Examples of each subgroup are provided. Clinical distinctions between victims and causer groups and subgroups can help to understand the variety of post-MVI symptoms and to achieve more sophisticated approaches to MVI treatment and prevention. It is emphasized that this is a pilot clinical study.

Key Words: motor vehicle accidents • motor car accidents • motor vehicle incidents • posttraumatic stress disorder • perpetrators • vulnerability • motor vehicle accident causation

Traumatology, Vol. 13, No. 3, 32-37 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1534765607305436


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