Coping Strategies in PTSD

1997 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 365-369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikloš Biro ◽  
Zdenka Novović ◽  
Vesna Gavrilov

The aim of this study is to analyse the type of coping strategies used by patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). For that purpose, two groups of war veterans (40 subjects in each group) were compared. The first group was made up of patients with PTSD, and the second (control) group comprised veterans who suffered combat trauma, but did not show any PTSD symptoms. Coping strategies were assessed using the Questionnaire of Coping Responses (McCrae, 1984).The results show that out of 118 items (examples of coping strategies) 10 show statistically significant differences between the group with PTSD and the one without it. PTSD patients used more maladaptive strategies (avoidance, pseudo-planning, fantasizing, impulsive and depressive behaviour), while subjects from the control group were more likely to use the strategy of controlling impulses.

2011 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 168-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khodabakhsh Ahmadi ◽  
Mahmood Reshadatjoo ◽  
GholamReza Karami ◽  
Nariman Sepehrvand ◽  
Pegah Ahmadi ◽  
...  

Aims and methodPost-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been reported in 90% of chemical warfare victims in previous studies. An individual's traumatic experience(s) may affect the lives of other family members as well. This cross-sectional case–control study compared the prevalence of PTSD symptoms in the husbands, the secondary PTSD symptoms in the wives and also aimed to identify if there was an association between the PTSD symptoms of the couples in the case group. Cases were 150 husband–wife couples where husbands were civilians exposed to chemical warfare; the controls were 156 husband–wife couples where there was no such exposure. Both cases and controls were recruited from Sardasht in Iran; this Kurdish city was attacked by four 250 kg sulphur mustard warheads in June 1987.ResultsAcross three sets of cut-off points for the Mississippi Scale for Combat-Related PTSD symptomotology (<120 and ⩾121; <106 and ⩾107; and <65, 65–130 and > 130) wives in the case group demonstrated higher rates of PTSD symptoms than did those in the control group; the difference was statistically significant. Furthermore, husbands in the case group had a significantly higher overall mean score (123.0 (s.d. = 17.2)) than the husbands in the control group (112.3 (s.d. = 21.7); P<0.001, t = 4.80). There was no statistically significant association between the overall PTSD score of the husbands in the case group with that of their wives (P = 0.274, correlation coefficient 0.092).Clinical implicationsHusbands who were exposed to the chemical agents reported higher PTSD symptoms and there were higher rates of PTSD symptoms among the wives of individuals who were exposed to chemical warfare. Study results suggest the need for coordinated treatments, policy efforts and interventions to improve the wellbeing of chemical warfare victims and their caregiver wives.


2008 ◽  
Vol 193 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon Einav ◽  
Arieh Y. Shalev ◽  
Hadas Ofek ◽  
Sara Freedman ◽  
Idit Matot ◽  
...  

SummaryPost-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can reduce performance. The association between PTSD and other psychopathologies among hospital doctors was examined using self-report questionnaires during a wave of suicide bombing in Jerusalem. Thirty-three doctors with PTSD symptoms and 155 without were compared on coping, burnout and acceptance of treatment. Doctors with PTSD symptoms demonstrated significantly more anxiety, depression, negative coping strategies and burnout. Hospital doctors who develop PTSD symptoms suffer greater burnout and manifest negative coping strategies but are reluctant to receive treatment.


Author(s):  
Susanne Fischer ◽  
Tabea Schumacher ◽  
Christine Knaevelsrud ◽  
Ulrike Ehlert ◽  
Sarah Schumacher

Abstract Background Less than half of all individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) remit spontaneously and a large proportion of those seeking treatment do not respond sufficiently. This suggests that there may be subgroups of individuals who are in need of augmentative or alternative treatments. One of the most frequent pathophysiological findings in PTSD is alterations in the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, including enhanced negative feedback sensitivity and attenuated peripheral cortisol. Given the role of the HPA axis in cognition, this pattern may contribute to PTSD symptoms and interfere with key processes of standard first-line treatments, such as trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy (TF-CBT). Methods This review provides a comprehensive summary of the current state of research regarding the role of HPA axis functioning in PTSD symptoms and treatment. Results Overall, there is preliminary evidence that hypocortisolaemia contributes to symptom manifestation in PTSD; that it predicts non-responses to TF-CBT; and that it is subject to change in parallel with positive treatment trajectories. Moreover, there is evidence that genetic and epigenetic alterations within the genes NR3C1 and FKBP5 are associated with this hypocortisolaemic pattern and that some of these alterations change as symptoms improve over the course of treatment. Conclusions Future research priorities include investigations into the role of the HPA axis in day-to-day symptom variation, the time scale in which biological changes in response to treatment occur, and the effects of sex. Furthermore, before conceiving augmentative or alternative treatments that target the described mechanisms, multilevel studies are warranted.


2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052110219
Author(s):  
Matthew M. Yalch ◽  
Sloane R. M. Rickman

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a common problem for women in the United States and is associated with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as well as hazardous use of substances like alcohol and drugs. However, not all subtypes of IPV (i.e., physical, sexual, and psychological) are equally predictive of PTSD and hazardous substance use. Although previous research suggests that psychological IPV has the strongest relative effect on PTSD symptoms and substance use, there is less research on IPV subtypes’ cumulative effects. In this study, we examined the relative and cumulative effects of physical, sexual, and psychological IPV on PTSD symptoms and hazardous substance use in a sample of women in the United States recruited via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk ( N = 793) using bootstrapped multiple regression and configural frequency analyses. Results suggest that physical IPV had the most pronounced influence (medium-large effect sizes) on substance use across women, but that the cumulative effects of all three IPV subtypes were most closely associated with diagnostic levels of both PTSD and substance use at the level of groups of women. These findings clarify and extend previous research on the differential effects of IPV subtypes and provide directions for future research and clinical intervention.


2015 ◽  
Vol 206 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathew Hoskins ◽  
Jennifer Pearce ◽  
Andrew Bethell ◽  
Liliya Dankova ◽  
Corrado Barbui ◽  
...  

BackgroundPharmacological treatment is widely used for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) despite questions over its efficacy.AimsTo determine the efficacy of all types of pharmacotherapy, as monotherapy, in reducing symptoms of PTSD, and to assess acceptability.MethodA systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials was undertaken; 51 studies were included.ResultsSelective serotonin reuptake inhibitors were found to be statistically superior to placebo in reduction of PTSD symptoms but the effect size was small (standardised mean difference −0.23, 95% CI −0.33 to −0.12). For individual pharmacological agents compared with placebo in two or more trials, we found small statistically significant evidence of efficacy for fluoxetine, paroxetine and venlafaxine.ConclusionsSome drugs have a small positive impact on PTSD symptoms and are acceptable. Fluoxetine, paroxetine and venlafaxine may be considered as potential treatments for the disorder. For most drugs there is inadequate evidence regarding efficacy for PTSD, pointing to the need for more research in this area.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-162
Author(s):  
Anwar Khan ◽  
Faseeh Ullah ◽  
Omer Abid ◽  
Khizra Hafeez Awan

"Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) develops after exposure to or witnessing traumatic events. PTSD is very common among the Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) patients. PTSD can be successfully treated with the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). However, CBT is mostly used in the western countries, so its efficacy in the eastern culture is still not fully known. Keeping this in view, the current study has determined the efficacy of CBT in the treatment of PTSD among the SCI patients in Pakistan. Using a Randomized Controlled Pilot Study design, data were collected through the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 from thirty patients admitted to the Paraplegic Center. Trauma-focused CBT(TF-CBT) protocol was applied through fourteen sessions. Data were analyzed by descriptive and multivariate statistics. Findings show that the level of PTSD symptoms gradually decreased from high at baseline (CAPS-5 Mean Scores μ= 3.6) to low during follow-up stage (CAPS-5 Mean Scores μ= 0.89). Results obtained from the present study on the efficacy of CBT are in concurrence with the research findings in other countries. This study supports the efficiency CBT intervention among Pakistani patients who had developed PTSD symptoms after suffering from SCI. Therefore, CBT can be widely used in the management of PTSD in Pakistan."


2010 ◽  
Vol 28 (23) ◽  
pp. 3754-3761 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine N. DuHamel ◽  
Catherine E. Mosher ◽  
Gary Winkel ◽  
Larissa E. Labay ◽  
Christine Rini ◽  
...  

Purpose A significant number of survivors of hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) report enduring adverse effects of treatment, including illness-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and general distress. We report results of a randomized clinical trial that tested the effects of a 10-session, telephone-administered cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) intervention on PTSD, depression, and distress symptoms. Methods Survivors who had undergone HSCT 1 to 3 years earlier (N = 408) were assessed for study eligibility. Those who met study eligibility criteria (n = 89) completed a baseline assessment that included a clinical interview and self-report measures of PTSD symptoms (the primary outcome) and depression and general distress (the secondary outcomes). Next, they were randomly assigned to CBT or an assessment-only condition. Survivors in the CBT group completed 10 individual telephone-based CBT sessions (T-CBT) that included strategies to reduce PTSD symptoms, depression, and general distress. Follow-up assessments occurred at 6, 9, and 12 months after the baseline assessment. Results Linear mixed-model analyses revealed that, compared with HSCT survivors in the assessment-only condition, survivors who completed T-CBT reported fewer illness-related PTSD symptoms, including less avoidance (P < .001) and fewer intrusive thoughts (P < .05) as well as less general distress and fewer depressive symptoms (P < .05) even after controlling for potential demographic and medical covariates. These results were consistent across the three follow-up assessments. Conclusion A brief, telephone-administered CBT intervention developed for HSCT survivors is an efficacious treatment for reducing illness-related PTSD symptoms and general distress.


2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S2) ◽  
pp. 1081-1081
Author(s):  
F.F. Luo ◽  
F. Han ◽  
X.Y. Shi

IntroductionPosttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized mainly by symptoms of reexperiencing, avoidance and hyperarousal as a consequence of catastrophic and traumatic events that are distinguished from ordinary stressful life events. Single-prolonged stress (SPS) is an established animal model for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The dorsal raphe nucleus (DR)-serotonin (5-HT) system is dramatically affected by swim stress and has been implicated in affective disorders. The 5-HT1A receptor (5-HT1AR) is critically involved in regulating mood and anxiety levels.ObjectiveIn this study, we investigated changes in the expression of 5-HT1AR in DR of rats after SPS which may reveal part of the pathogenesis of PTSD.MethodsRats were randomly divided into 24h, 4d and 7d groups after SPS and a normal control group, 5-HT1AR expression in DR was examined using immunohistochemistry, western blotting and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction.ResultsThe expression of 5-HT1AR in DR after SPS exposure was increased when compared to that in the control group (P < 0.05).ConclusionThese findings suggest increase of 5-HT1AR in DR of SPS rats, which may play important roles in the pathogenesis of PTSD rats.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nisha Kader ◽  
Bushra Elhusein ◽  
Nirvana Swamy Kudlur Chandrappa ◽  
Abdulqadir J. Nashwan ◽  
Prem Chandra ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Intensive care unit (ICU) staff have faced unprecedented challenges during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which could significantly affect their mental health and well-being. The present study aimed to investigate perceived stress and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms reported by ICU staff working directly with COVID-19 patients. Methods The Perceived Stress Scale was used to assess perceived stress, the PTSD Diagnostic Scale for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th edition) was used to determine PTSD symptoms, and a sociodemographic questionnaire was used to record different sociodemographic variables. Results Altogether, 124 participants (57.2% of whom were men) were included in the analysis. The majority of participants perceived working in the ICU with COVID-19 patients as moderately to severely stressful. Moreover, 71.4% of doctors and 74.4% of nurses experienced moderate-to-severe perceived stress. The staff with previous ICU experience were less likely to have a probable diagnosis of PTSD than those without previous ICU experience. Conclusions Assessing perceived stress levels and PTSD among ICU staff may enhance our understanding of COVID-19-induced mental health challenges. Specific strategies to enhance ICU staff’s mental well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic should be employed and monitored regularly. Interventions aimed at alleviating sources of anxiety in a high-stress environment may reduce the likelihood of developing PTSD.


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