The American journal of psychiatry
-
The capacity of persons with Alzheimer's disease or other neuropsychiatric disorders for giving consent to participate in research has come under increasing scrutiny. While instruments for measuring abilities related to capacity have been developed, how they should be used to categorize subjects as capable or incapable is not clear. A criterion validation study was carried out to help address this question. ⋯ Even relatively mild Alzheimer's disease significantly impairs consent-giving capacity. But differentiating capable from incapable subjects remains an issue despite the aid of standardized tools. More research is needed to understand the relationship between subject factors (performance on ability measures) and categorical judgments about their capacity.
-
Comparative Study
Incidence and prediction of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in severely injured accident victims.
This study was designed to assess the incidence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in severely injured accident victims and to predict the presence of PTSD symptoms at a 12-month follow-up. ⋯ In severely injured accident victims who were healthy before experiencing trauma, the incidence of PTSD was low. One-third of the variance of PTSD symptoms at 1-year follow-up could be predicted by mainly psychosocial variables.