Duc Tran Dong, a forty-two year-old Vietnamese immigrant was held up at gunpoint and shot in the arm one year ago working as a clerk in the neighborhood convenience store. Within the last two weeks he has begun experiencing symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. You are his social worker. What would help you to decide whether his diagnosis posttraumatic stress disorder could be characterized as acute, chronic, delayed onset or residual?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The passage indicates that the traumatic event occurred one year ago, and the social worker is trying to determine the nature of the PTSD symptoms. Therefore, the factor that would most help the social worker to determine the type of PTSD is time, or how long after the event the symptoms began to appear. Acute PTSD symptoms appear within a month of the traumatic event, chronic PTSD symptoms last for three months or longer, delayed onset PTSD symptoms do not appear until six months or longer after the traumatic event, and residual PTSD symptoms occur after the traumatic event has ended but are not severe enough to warrant a diagnosis of acute or chronic PTSD.

Duc Tran Dong, a Forty-Two Year-Old Vietnamese Immigrant Was Held