Impact of disaster exposure severity: Cascading effects across parental distress, adolescent PTSD symptoms, as well as parent-child conflict and communication.

EPA-0257 – Psychosocial group interventions on bam earthquake related ptsd symptoms in adolescents

Family context of mental health risk in Tsunami-exposed adolescents: Findings from a pilot study in Sri Lanka

Predicting Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms Longitudinally in a Representative Sample of Hospitalized Injured Adolescents

The current study investigated the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, within-network resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC), and alcohol use during adolescence using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from the National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence study (NCANDA; N = 687). Significant rs-FC differences emerged that linked participant ACEs, PTSD symptoms, and alcohol use problems. Participants with ACEs compared to those without had diminished rs-FC within the default mode, salience, and medial frontoparietal networks (p ≤ 0.005). Further reduction in rs-FC within the default mode and medial frontoparietal networks (p ≤ 0.005) was found when PTSD symptoms were present in addition to ACEs. Findings suggest that PTSD symptoms are associated with lower within network rs-FC beyond exposure to ACEs, and some of these rs-FC changes were associated with worsened alcohol use problems (i.e. withdrawal symptoms). These findings highlight the importance of addressing PTSD symptoms in adolescents with a history of ACEs as it may mitigate problematic changes in brain connectivity and reduce the risk of developing alcohol use problems.

BackgroundWhile numerous studies have explored relevant factors of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, there have been few joint investigations of trauma severity and trait neuroticism on the development of PTSD symptoms. This study aims to assess the involvement and interrelationship of trauma severity and neuroticism in the expression of PTSD symptoms among adolescents exposed to an accidental explosion.MethodsSix hundred and sixty-two adolescents were recruited from a junior middle school closest to the 2013 pipeline explosion site in China and were assessed using the Explosion Exposure Questionnaire, the NEO Five Factor Inventory-Neuroticism Subscale (FFI-N), and the PTSD Checklist-Civilian (PCL-C). A battery of hierarchical multiple regression analyses and two-way ANOVAs were performed to examine the effect of trauma severity and trait neuroticism on adolescent PTSD symptoms.ResultsEighty-seven adolescents (13.1%) showed PTSD symptoms after the pipeline explosion. Correlation analysis showed that all the factors of explosion exposure and trait neuroticism were positively associated with adolescent PTSD symptoms. Being male and younger was linked to lower risk for PTSD symptoms. The regression models identified explosion exposure and neuroticism as independent risk factors for PTSD symptoms, and the interactions between trait neuroticism and trauma exposure (personal casualty, degree of influence, total traumatic severity) were related to PTSD symptoms.ConclusionsThe results highlight the role of trauma exposure and trait neuroticism as risk factors for PTSD symptoms. Therefore, the combination of these two factors should be investigated in clinical settings due to an augmented risk for more severe PTSD symptoms.

Few investigations have simultaneously assessed concordance between youth and parent ratings of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and functioning. Randomly sampled adolescent injury survivors ages 12-18 and their parents were assessed on the inpatient ward and again at 2, 5, and 12-months postinjury (N = 99). Adolescent PTSD symptoms and functioning were rated by both adolescents and parents. Parent PTSD was also assessed; 27% of parents endorsed symptoms consistent with a diagnosis of PTSD over the course of the year after adolescent injury. The PTSD positive parents demonstrated significantly greater discordance in ratings of adolescent PTSD symptoms, family cohesion, and mental health functioning. These findings suggest caution in clinical and policy applications of parental ratings of adolescent symptomatic and functional outcomes after injury.

Test of the dynamic interplay between DSM-5 PTSD symptom clusters in children and adolescents

When social support is not enough: Trauma and PTSD symptoms in a risk-sample of adolescents

The current study examined the longitudinal association between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and posttraumatic growth (PTG) as well as the moderating role of trait resilience in that association. Participants completed measures of PTSD symptoms, PTG, and trait resilience at 12, 18, and 24 months after the Wenchuan earthquake. Results showed that after adjusting PTG at wave 1, PTSD symptoms at wave 1 were positively and significantly related to PTG at wave 2 for low-resilience individuals, but not for individuals with the other two levels (middle and high) of trait resilience. After adjusting PTSD symptoms at wave 1, PTG at wave 1 was positively and significantly related to PTSD symptoms at wave 2 for middle-resilience individuals, but not for individuals with the other two levels (low and high) of trait resilience. No other cross-lagged correlations were significant. Implications of the results for psychological service providers are discussed.

ObjectivesOur objective was to determine if symptoms of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are associated with peritraumatic dissociation, and if this association is modified by trauma prior to police...

Emotion dysregulation is associated with increased prospective risk for chronic PTSD development

In this study, we evaluated whether peritraumatic dissociation (PD) was associated with symptoms of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and whether this association was modified by trauma prior to police work. Symptoms of depression, PTSD, peritraumatic dissociative experience (PDE), and trauma prior to police work were measured using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale, PTSD Checklist-Civilian, PDE questionnaire, and the Brief Trauma questionnaire, respectively, in 328 police officers. Separate regression models were used to assess if either symptoms of depression or PTSD were associated with PD stratified by prior trauma. Means were adjusted for race, number of drinks per week, and smoking. PD was associated with symptoms of PTSD and depression (β = 0.65, p < .001 and β = 0.27, p < .001, respectively). PD was positively associated with symptoms of PTSD regardless of prior trauma (β = 0.61, p < .001(without prior trauma), 0.75, p < .001 (with prior trauma). In contrast to PTSD, depression symptoms were significantly associated with PD scores in individuals with prior trauma (β = 0.47, p < .001), but not in individuals without prior trauma (β = 0.13, p = .165). This is a cross-sectional study. Outcomes were obtained via self-report and were not clinically diagnosed. Aspects of both the trauma event as well as the symptoms and severity of PD may have introduced recall bias. These results add to the literature indicating that PD plays a role in symptoms of PTSD and depression and how prior trauma may modify this relationship. (PsycINFO Database Record

ABSTRACTThere is strong research evidence for the association of personality pathology and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as trauma-related negative cognitions (TRNC) and PTSD symptoms. However, the relationship between personality pathology and TRNC in the context of PTSD is mostly unknown. In the present study, we aimed to examine whether avoidant and borderline personality beliefs (PB, indicator of personality pathology) could predict therapy outcome in PTSD, and whether the relationship between PB and therapy outcome could be mediated by TRNC. Sixty patients with PTSD were assessed for PB, TRNC and PTSD symptoms at baseline, and for PTSD symptoms at the termination of Prolonged Exposure Therapy. Baseline avoidant PB predicted significant variance in PTSD symptoms at termination over and above baseline PTSD symptoms (16% reduction in treatment effect per SD on avoidant PB). Moreover, TRNC at baseline fully mediated the relationships between baseline avoidant PB and PTSD symptoms at termination. This is the first study to show that avoidant PB predicts treatment response in PTSD, and that patients with avoidant beliefs are more vulnerable to have TRNC, which are associated with impeded therapy response. Our results highlight the importance of targeting both dysfunctional PB and TRNC in PTSD interventions.

BackgroundDisaster experiences have been associated with higher prevalence rates of (mental) health problems. The objective of this study was to examine the independent relation between a series of single disaster experiences versus the independent predictive value of a accumulation of disaster experiences, i.e. a sum score of experiences and symptoms of distress and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).MethodsSurvivors of a fireworks disaster participated in a longitudinal study and completed a questionnaire three weeks (wave 1), eighteen months (wave 2) and four years post-disaster (wave 3). Ten years post-disaster (wave 4) the respondents consisted of native Dutch survivors only. Main outcome measures were general distress and symptoms of PTSD.ResultsDegree of disaster exposure (sum score) and some disaster-related experiences (such as house destroyed, injured, confusion) were related to distress at waves 2 and 3. This relation was mediated by distress at an earlier point in time. None of the individual disaster-related experiences was independently related to symptoms of distress. The association between the degree of disaster exposure and symptoms of PTSD at waves 2 and 3 was still statistically significant after controlling for symptoms of distress and PTSD at earlier point in time. The variable ‘house destroyed’ was the only factor that was independently related to symptoms of PTSD at wave 2. Ten years after the disaster, disaster exposure was mediated by symptoms of PTSD at waves 2 and 3. Disaster exposure was not independently related to symptoms of PTSD ten years post-disaster.ConclusionsUntil 4 years after the disaster, degree of exposure (a sum score) was a risk factor for PTSD symptoms while none of the individual disaster experiences could be identified as an independent risk factor. Ten years post-disaster, disaster exposure was no longer an independent risk factor for symptoms of PTSD. Since symptoms of PTSD and distress at earlier waves perpetuate the symptoms at later waves, health care workers should aim their resources at those who still have symptoms after one and a half year post-disaster, to prevent health problems at medium and long-term.

We investigate if posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms mediate the effects of disaster severity or prior trauma on binge drinking following disaster exposure and test if support from caregiver moderates the relation between disaster severity and PTSD symptoms as well as prior trauma and PTSD symptoms. A population-based clinical trial used address-based sampling to enroll 1,804 adolescents and parents from communities affected by tornadoes in Missouri and Alabama. Data collection via baseline (averaging 8 months postdisaster), 4-month postbaseline, and 12-month postbaseline semistructured telephone interviews was completed between September 2011 and August 2013. Longitudinal analyses, testing the indirect effects of disaster severity and prior traumatic events on alcohol use through PTSD symptoms, as potentially moderated by support from caregiver, were conducted. PTSD symptoms mediated the effect of prior trauma, but not disaster severity, on binge drinking. Specifically, those with more prior traumas reported more PTSD symptoms, which in turn increased risk for binge drinking. Support from caregiver moderated the effect of disaster severity, but not prior trauma, on PTSD symptoms. Specifically, the effect of disaster severity on PTSD symptoms was significant for adolescents with average or below-average caregiver support. Findings suggest that PTSD symptomatology is one mechanism by which prior trauma can impact binge drinking among adolescents following exposure to a natural disaster. Caregiver support can serve as a buffer for reducing PTSD symptomatology related to the severity of a natural disaster, which can decrease the likelihood of adolescent binge drinking. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).