Are Peritraumatic Perceptions of Fear/Life Threat and Posttraumatic Negative Self-Conscious Appraisals/Emotions Differentially Associated with PTSD Symptoms?

Abstract

In light of revisions to the diagnostic classification and criteria of PTSD in the DSM-5 that underscore a range of negative self-related appraisals and emotions beyond fear/anxiety, the current study examined the relative associations of peritraumatic perceptions of fear/life threat and posttraumatic negative self-conscious appraisals and emotions (shame, guilt, negative beliefs about the self, self-blame) with specific PTSD symptom clusters: re-experiencing, avoidance, numbing, and hyperarousal. The sample included 257 female survivors of intimate partner violence. Structural equation modeling analyses revealed that peritraumatic perceptions of fear/life threat and posttraumatic negative self-conscious appraisals/emotions significantly correlated with each of the PTSD symptom clusters. Findings support the conceptualization of PTSD as involving concurrent fear- and self-related cognitive/emotional factors.