Psychological assessment of adults with burn injuries in Lebanon.

Abstract

Burned patients are frequently diagnosed with psychiatric disorders. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of probable post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and to assess growth and self-esteem among burned patients. A cross-sectional quantitative study was performed, investigating the prevalence of probable PTSD among burned inpatients or outpatients over six years compared to a control group. 230 adult participants of whom 133 were burned patients and 97 non-burned subjects participated in the study. Inpatients exhibited higher PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) scores (49.80 ± 23.44) when compared to outpatients (34.64 ± 31.15) and to the control group (42.73 ± 25.66) but regression analysis failed to show a statistical significance among the different groups. 18 % of burned patients met probable PTSD status based on the PCL-5. 10 % (10/102) of burned inpatients, 7 % (2/31) of burned outpatients and 9 % (9/97) of control group reported low self-esteem. Outpatients had significantly higher Rosenberg self-esteem scores (22.09 ± 4.53) compared to inpatients (18.38 ± 3.90) and the control group (p-value = 0.000). A lower educational level was associated with higher probable PTSD and a younger age was associated with higher post-traumatic growth. Burned patients may develop low self-esteem, but they have been found to have high resilience and well-established personal growth.