Psychological assessment of adults with burn injuries in Lebanon

Background and objectives: 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. Subjects and methods: 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. Results: 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. Conclusion: Burned patients may develop low self-esteem, but they have been found to have high resilience and well-established personal growth.