Dr. Margaret McKinnon Uncovers New Clues about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Vulnerability
St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton researcher Dr. Margaret McKinnon was amongst a group of passengers who experienced 30 minutes of unimaginable terror over the Atlantic Ocean in the 2001 Air Transat Flight 236. The group’s experiences helped researchers to discover a potential risk factor that may help predict who is most vulnerable to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
The study, conducted by researchers at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton and Baycrest Health Sciences, is published online this week in the journal Clinical Psychological Science – ahead of print publication. It is the first to involve detailed interviews and psychological testing in individuals exposed to the same life-threatening traumatic event.
Dr. McKinnon is now a clinician-scientist at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton and Associate Co-Chair of Research in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University. Following this incident Dr. McKinnon and her colleagues at Baycrest – including Dr. Daniela Palombo and Dr. Brian Levine – recruited 15 passengers to participate in a study that helps psychologists to better determine PTSD vulnerability.
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