ACIDENTES DE TRÂNSITO E SAÚDE MENTAL: O IMPACTO DAS SEQUELAS PERMANENTES NOS ESTADOS PSICOLÓGICOS DE SUAS VÍTIMAS

Abstract

Traffic accidents (TA) are urban events that can cause damage to the vehicle or injury to people, due to internal and external causes. TA is one of the major public health problems in Brazil and worldwide, due to the high morbidity and mortality rates, the overload on the health system, and the psychosocial impact on victims. In terms of mental health, victims of TA often develop dissociative reactions such as anxiety, stress, depression, hopelessness, suicidal thoughts, and self-hate. However, it is not yet clear whether the development of these mental states is common both in TA victims who developed sequels as a result of this event and in victims who experienced the same traumatic event but did not develop sequels. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to determine whether there are statistically significant differences in the mental health of people who suffered TA and developed sequels (i.e., acquired disabilities) compared with people who underwent TA and did not develop sequels. Specifically, we seek to: a) determine the mental health of traffic accident victims; b) correlate mental health variables associated with the psychological processes of TA victims; and c) compare the mental health of participants who developed permanent sequels as a result of TA with those who did not develop sequels. A total of 42 individuals participated in this study, evenly distributed in terms of gender (ie, 50% men and 50% women), ranging in age from 21 to 56 years (M = 33.30; SD = 8.52). Participants answered an online questionnaire composed of sociodemographic information and psychological scales assessing variables of interest (e.g., anxiety, stress, depression, hopelessness, suicidal ideation, self-hate, and life satisfaction) and were invited to participate in the study via posts on social media. In general, results showed that, on average, people who suffered traffic accident and developed sequels were statistically different of those who suffered traffic accident and had no sequels related to life satisfaction, depression, suicidal thoughts and likelihood of developing PTSD. Precisely, we observed on people who did not develop sequels higher levels of life satisfaction when comparing with the ones who suffered TA and developed sequels. By the opposite, participants who developed sequels showed higher levels of depression, suicidal thoughts and likelihood of developing PTSD than participants who suffered TA without developing sequels. We discuss these findings in light of theoretical implications for traffic psychology and note limitations and future directions for the present study.