Intrusive Cognitive Content and Postdeployment Distress.

Abstract

Although intrusive cognitions (ICs) are common posttrauma, little is known about trauma-related IC content, or associations between IC content and posttraumatic adjustment. A mixed-method cross-sectional approach was used in a secondary analysis of IC content and postdeployment distress. Participants were 1,521 U.S. Army soldiers 3-12 months postdeployment reporting their most distressing postdeployment ICs (mean number of ICs reported was 1.20). ICs were transcribed and content was categorized by 13 emergent themes. The most commonly reported ICs were of injury or death (48.2%) and combat (43.5%), and soldiers with probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; n = 187) were more likely to report the presence of these ICs, χ(2) s(1) = 35.27, ps < .001, φs < .16 than those without probable PTSD (n = 1,331). Other domains also emerged frequently, including ICs about friends (31.0%), family (15.8%), and leadership concerns (13.8%). IC content was a small, but significant correlate of distress after adjusting for combat exposure (ΔR(2) ≥ .02, ps ≤ .001). The presence of ICs of injury or death, combat, military sexual trauma, health, leadership, and family (βs > .06, ps < .02) were unique correlates of distress. Results suggested that ICs about a wide range of topics should be addressed in postdeployment interventions.