Mental health consequences of the Lockerbie Disaster

This paper examines mental health consequences of the Lockerbie Disaster in 66 adults claiming compensation from the insurers of the airline. Claimants were examined 10 to 14 months after the disaster by clinical interview and questionnaires. The most frequent diagnoses were post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, followed by other anxiety disorders. Many were above “caseness” levels on questionnaires, and had very high scores on intrusion and avoidance. There were no significant predictors of the presence or severity of diagnosis, but a number of predictors (age, death of friends, exposure to unpleasant sights) of questionnaire scores.