Gender and Changes in Trauma Narrative Following CBT for PTSD

Abstract

ABSTRACTOur study explored whether the characteristics of pretreatment trauma narratives could be used as indicators of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity before treatment. We also studied whether pretreatment characteristics could predict treatment efficacy. Although several studies suggest that fragmentation, proportion of internal events, and length in trauma narratives are associated with PTSD symptomatology, there are contradictions in the findings. Given the differences in trauma response between men and women, we considered the potential influence of gender. Before beginning a cognitive-behavioral therapy treatment, 66 participants verbally recounted their traumatic event during a diagnostic interview. After treatment, 48 participants once again provided a trauma narrative. PTSD symptom severity was assessed using the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale. Linear regression analyses revealed that none of the pretreatment characteristics predicted treatment efficacy. Furthermore, the length of the trauma narrative was the only pretreatment characteristic that correlated with pretreatment PTSD symptomatology. This suggests that more severe symptomatology is associated with shorter narratives. We only found a significant gender difference in narrative length, which was longer in women than in men. Our findings not only highlight the need for additional research on the link between trauma narratives and PTSD symptomatology, but also stress the necessity of considering gender in this field of research. This could allow for enhanced treatments to target gender-specific needs, thus leading to more individualized care for PTSD patients.