Acting with awareness and distress tolerance relate to PTSD symptoms among women with substance use disorder.

Abstract

Women with a history of trauma exposure and substance use disorder (SUD) are more likely to report co-occurring post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms than the general population. However, cognitive factors such as increased distress tolerance and mindfulness disposition might be especially protective against PTSD symptoms for women with SUD. We examined the associations of distress tolerance and mindfulness disposition as potential resilience factors to PTSD symptoms in a sample of women receiving residential treatment for SUD (N = 237, M AGE = 32.34, 56.96% Hispanic). PTSD symptoms were divided into the clusters of Reexperiencing, Avoidance, Dysphoria and Arousal. Regression models revealed that distress tolerance and the mindfulness facet of acting with awareness are negatively and incrementally associated with total, dysphoria and arousal PTSD symptom severity, while non-reactivity has a significant negative relationship with avoidance PTSD symptoms. Only distress tolerance emerged to be negatively related to PTSD reexperiencing symptom severity. Our findings show that the ability to tolerate distress, as well as specific mindfulness skills, might protect against specific severe PTSD symptoms among women with SUD. Future research should examine whether targeting both of these facets is necessary for achieving favorable clinical outcomes on PTSD in this population.