Traumatic Life Events in Primary Care Patients: A Study in an Ethnically Diverse Sample

Traumatic life events are common and associated with psychiatric disorders other than posttraumatic stress disorder in an ethnically diverse sample of primary care patients and Screening for traumatic experiences should accompany assessments of psychiatric disorders to ensure adequate treatment of patients seeking primary care services.

Abstract

Traumatic life events are common and associated with psychiatric disorders other than posttraumatic stress disorder in an ethnically diverse sample of primary care patients. Psychiatric disorders, in turn, are strongly associated with poor physical functioning and higher rates of primary care utilization. Screening for traumatic experiences should accompany assessments of psychiatric disorders to ensure adequate treatment of patients seeking primary care services.