Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Alcohol Research Articles

Differences in genetic correlations between posttraumatic stress disorder and alcohol-related problems phenotypes compared to alcohol consumption-related phenotypes.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) tends to co-occur with greater alcohol consumption as well as alcohol use disorder (AUD). However, it is unknown whether the same etiologic factors that underlie PTSD-alcohol-related problems comorbidity also contribute to PTSD- alcohol consumption. We used summary statistics from large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of European-ancestry (EA) and African-ancestry (AA) participants to estimate genetic correlations between PTSD and a range of alcohol consumption-related and alcohol-related problems phenotypes. In EAs, there were positive genetic correlations between PTSD phenotypes and alcohol-related problems phenotypes (e.g. Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) problem score) (rGs: 0.132-0.533, all FDR adjusted p < 0.05). However, the genetic correlations between PTSD phenotypes and alcohol consumption -related phenotypes (e.g. drinks per week) were negatively associated or non-significant (rGs: -0.417 to -0.042, FDR adjusted p: <0.05-NS). For AAs, the direction of correlations was sometimes consistent and sometimes inconsistent with that in EAs, and the ranges were larger (rGs for alcohol-related problems: -0.275 to 0.266, FDR adjusted p: NS, alcohol consumption-related: 0.145-0.699, FDR adjusted p: NS). These findings illustrate that the genetic associations between consumption and problem alcohol phenotypes and PTSD differ in both strength and direction. Thus, the genetic factors that may lead someone to develop PTSD and high levels of alcohol consumption are not the same as those that lead someone to develop PTSD and alcohol-related problems. Discussion around needing improved methods to better estimate heritabilities and genetic correlations in diverse and admixed ancestry samples is provided.

PTSD and alcohol misuse: Examining the mediating role of fear of self-compassion among military veterans.

The co-occurrence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol misuse presents a significant clinical concern among military veterans. Fear of self-compassion, the active resistance to thinking and behaving compassionately toward oneself, may be an important consideration that underlies this relation. The current investigation examined whether self-compassion and fear of self-compassion, separately, mediated the association between PTSD symptoms and alcohol misuse among a sample of military veterans. Data were collected from 203 military veterans (M age = 35.08 years, 77.70% male, 72.2% White) who responded to an online survey. The findings indicated that both self-compassion and fear of self-compassion significantly explained the association between PTSD symptoms and alcohol misuse. Furthermore, fear of self-compassion explained this relation after adjusting for levels of self-compassion. These results suggest that both self-compassion and a fear of self-compassion may be important considerations in the PTSD-alcohol misuse relation; future work should extend these findings in longitudinal and intervention frameworks. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Application of PTSD alcohol expectancy symptom clusters to the four-dimensional model of PTSD: Support from moderations of the association between symptoms of posttraumatic stress and alcohol use.

Alcohol expectancy theory, which examines beliefs about the effects of alcohol on the consumer, is especially relevant for understanding the role of alcohol use in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Previous research on the relationship between alcohol expectancies and PTSD suggests that greater endorsement of positive alcohol expectancies is positively associated with alcohol use, problem drinking, and increased PTSD symptomatology. The purpose of the current study was to investigate relationships among positive and negative PTSD alcohol expectancies, PTSD symptom clusters, and alcohol use in a sample of undergraduates. Additionally, a 4-factor structure of PTSD alcohol expectancies, based on the supported 4-domain model of PTSD, was examined. Participants included 336 undergraduates at a large Midwestern university who completed measures of trauma exposure, PTSD symptomatology, PTSD alcohol expectancies, and alcohol use. Moderation analysis found positive alcohol expectancies influenced the relationship between posttraumatic stress (PTS) and alcohol use. Additionally, each of 4 proposed symptom clusters of PTSD alcohol expectancies moderated the association between corresponding PTSD symptom clusters and alcohol use. No support for the utility of negative alcohol expectancies was found. The current study provides support for a PTSD symptom domain-specific approach for measuring alcohol expectancies. Though limited in generalizability, this research also provides evidence for positive PTSD alcohol expectancies as an important moderator in the relationship between symptoms of PTS and alcohol, suggesting that perceptions of alcohol's effect on PTSD symptoms confer risk for problematic drinking. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Alcohol misuse to down-regulate positive emotions: A cross-sectional multiple mediator analysis among US military veterans

IntroductionThe co-occurrence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol misuse presents a pervasive and clinically relevant concern among US military veterans. ObjectiveThe current investigation sought to examine the role of positive emotion dysfunction in the relation between PTSD symptomatology and alcohol misuse. To do so, we examined the separate and sequential roles of positive emotional intensity and positive emotional avoidance in the relation between PTSD symptoms and alcohol misuse among US military veterans. MethodCross-sectional data were collected from 468 US military veterans (M age = 37.74, 70.5% male, 69.0% White) who responded to an online survey. ResultsFindings suggest that positive emotional avoidance, separately, and positive emotional intensity and positive emotional avoidance, sequentially, mediated the relation between PTSD symptoms and alcohol misuse. ConclusionsFindings advance theory on the role of positive emotions and related processes in the co-occurrence of PTSD and alcohol misuse, and highlight important avenues for future research and treatment focused on the PTSD-alcohol misuse co-occurrence.

Impulsivity interacts with momentary PTSD symptom worsening to predict alcohol use in male veterans

ABSTRACTBackground: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is prevalent among veterans who served post-9/11, and co-occurs with problem alcohol and substance use. Studies using ecological momentary assessment have examined the temporal association between time-varying PTSD symptoms and alcohol use. Results suggest individual differences in these associations. Objectives: We tested hypotheses that alcohol use measured by momentary assessment would be explained by acute increases in PTSD symptoms, and the PTSD–alcohol association would be moderated by trait impulsivity. Methods: A sample of 28 male post-9/11-era veterans who reported past-month PTSD symptoms and risky alcohol use were enrolled. On a quasi-random schedule, participants completed three electronic assessments daily for 28 days measuring past 2-h PTSD symptoms, alcohol, and substance use. At baseline, trait impulsivity was measured by the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale. Past-month PTSD symptoms and alcohol use were measured. Using three-level hierarchical models, number of drinks recorded by momentary assessment was modeled as a function of change in PTSD symptoms since last assessment, controlling for lag-1 alcohol and substance use and other covariates. A cross-level interaction tested moderation of the within-time PTSD–alcohol association by impulsivity. Results: A total of 1,522 assessments were completed. A positive within-time association between PTSD symptom change and number of drinks was demonstrated. The association was significantly moderated by impulsivity. Conclusion: Results provide preliminary support for a unique temporal relationship between acute PTSD symptom change and alcohol use among veterans with trait impulsiveness. If replicated in a clinical sample, results may have implications for a targeted momentary intervention.