Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Treatment Outcomes in Military Clinics

ABSTRACT Introduction Despite a wide literature describing the impact of PTSD on military personnel, there is limited information concerning the results of PTSD treatment within military clinics mental health. Having such information is essential for making predictions about service members’ chances of recovery, choosing best treatments, and for understanding if new interventions improve upon the standard of care. Materials and Methods We reviewed data from the Psychological Health Pathways (PHP) database. Psychological Health Pathways is a standardized battery of demographics and psychometric outcome measures, including measurement of PTSD symptom severity, that is collected in military mental health clinics. We examined changes in PTSD symptom severity scores over time and developed logistic regression models to predict who responded to treatment, showed clinical success, or improved to the point that they could likely stay in the military. Results After about 10 weeks in mental health clinics, severity scores for PTSD, sleep, depression, resilience, and disability all improved significantly. Of 681 patients tracked, 38% had clinically significant reductions on the PTSD Checklist (PCL) (i.e., “treatment response”), 28% no longer met criteria for PTSD on the PCL, and 23% did both (i.e., “clinical treatment success”). For the ultimate end point of “military treatment success,” defined as meeting criteria for both clinical treatment success and reporting that their work-related disability was mild or better, 12.8% of patients succeeded. Depression scores were the most powerful predictor of treatment failure. Conclusions Recovery from PTSD is possible during military service, but it is less likely in individuals with certain negative prognostic factors, most notably severe depression.

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Engagement in Mental Health Services as a Function of Relationship Quality and PTSD Symptom Severity

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e620042013-001 ◽

2013 ◽

Author(s):

Meghan M. McGinn ◽

Katherine D. Hoerster ◽

Carol Malte ◽

Stephen Hunt ◽

Matthew Jakupcak

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Health Services ◽

Health Services ◽

Relationship Quality ◽

Symptom Severity ◽

Ptsd Symptom ◽

Ptsd Symptom Severity

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PTSD Symptom Severity, but Not Trauma Type, Predicts Mental Health Help-seeking in the Military

Journal of Psychiatric Practice ◽

10.1097/pra.0000000000000331 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 24 (5) ◽

pp. 310-316

Author(s):

JEFFREY GUINA ◽

RAMZI W. NAHHAS ◽

MINH-TRI NGUYEN ◽

SETH FARNSWORTH

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Symptom Severity ◽

Help Seeking ◽

Ptsd Symptom ◽

Ptsd Symptom Severity ◽

The Military ◽

Trauma Type

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Gender Differences in Complex Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms, and Their Relationship to Mental Health and Substance Abuse Outcomes in Incarcerated Adults

Journal of Interpersonal Violence ◽

10.1177/0886260517692995 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 35 (5-6) ◽

pp. 1133-1157 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Paulette Giarratano ◽

Julian D. Ford ◽

Thomas H. Nochajski

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Gender Difference ◽

Behavioral Health ◽

Childhood Abuse ◽

Symptom Severity ◽

Justice System ◽

Ptsd Symptom ◽

Health Problems ◽

Ptsd Symptom Severity ◽

The Relationship

Complex trauma (CT; for example, childhood abuse) has been associated with significant behavioral health problems (i.e., mental health and substance use disorders) and symptoms that are consistent with complex posttraumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD). CT is prevalent in adult forensic populations, and particularly important for women as they tend to report more adverse consequences of exposure to traumatic stressors and are entering the criminal justice system at a heightened rate compared with men. However, no studies have empirically tested the relationship among CT, C-PTSD, and behavioral health problems with gender among incarcerated adults. The present study examined the relationship between gender and childhood abuse history, C-PTSD symptom severity, and behavioral health problems in 497 incarcerated adults. Findings indicate that women were more likely to report a history of childhood abuse, and more severe C-PTSD symptoms and behavioral health problems than men. Childhood abuse history significantly accounted for the gender difference observed in C-PTSD symptom severity. C-PTSD partially mediated the gender difference in psychiatric morbidity and in risk of hard drug use. Implications for trauma-informed and gender-responsive services and research in the adult criminal justice system are discussed.

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Gender differences in response to war-related trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder – a study among the Congolese refugees in Uganda

BMC Psychiatry ◽

10.1186/s12888-019-2420-0 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Herbert E. Ainamani ◽

Thomas Elbert ◽

David Kani Olema ◽

Tobias Hecker

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Gender Differences ◽

Symptom Severity ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Ptsd Symptom ◽

Traumatic Events ◽

Health Problems ◽

Cumulative Exposure ◽

Men And Women ◽

Ptsd Symptom Severity

Abstract Background The wars in the Democratic Republic of Congo have left indelible marks on the mental health and functioning of the Congolese civilians that sought refuge in Uganda. Even though it is clear that civilians who are exposed to potentially traumatizing events in war and conflict areas develop trauma-related mental health problems, scholarly information on gender differences on exposure to different war-related traumatic events, their conditional risks to developing PTSD and whether the cumulative exposure to traumatic events affects men and women differently is still scanty. Methods In total, 325 (n = 143 males, n = 182 females) Congolese refugees who lived in Nakivale, a refugee settlement in the Southwestern part of Uganda were interviewed within a year after their arrival. Assessment included exposure to war-related traumatic events, and DSM-IV PTSD symptom severity. Results Our main findings were that refugees were highly exposed to war-related traumatic events with experiencing dangerous flight as the most common event for both men (97%) and women (97%). The overall high prevalence of PTSD differed among women (94%) and men (84%). The highest conditional prevalence of PTSD in women was associated with experiencing rape. The dose-response effect differed significantly between men and women with women showing higher PTSD symptom severity when experiencing low and moderate levels of potentially traumatizing event types. Conclusion In conflict areas, civilians are highly exposed to different types of war-related traumatic events that expose them to high levels of PTSD symptoms, particularly women. Interventions focused at reducing mental health problems resulting from war should take the context of gender into consideration.

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A-015 Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms are Associated with Reduced Performance on the MoCA among Vietnam Veterans

Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology ◽

10.1093/arclin/acaa068.015 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 35 (6) ◽

pp. 805-805

Author(s):

Prieto S ◽

Valerio K ◽

Moody J ◽

Hayes S ◽

Hayes J

Keyword(s):

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ◽

Posttraumatic Stress ◽

Symptom Severity ◽

Vietnam Veterans ◽

Stress Disorder ◽

Ptsd Symptom ◽

Cognitive Outcomes ◽

Severity Scores ◽

Stressful Experiences ◽

Ptsd Symptom Severity

Abstract Objective To examine cross-sectional associations between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity, number of stressors experienced, and cognitive outcomes in Vietnam War veterans. Methods 366 adults between the ages of 60–85 years old completed a Vietnam Veterans Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative Project (ADNI-DoD) visit consisting of a clinical interview and neuropsychological assessment. Number of stressful experiences were measured with the Life Stressor Checklist-Revised (LSC-R). Severity scores were assessed via the current Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS). Correlations were conducted between selected measures of stress and age, years of education, sex, ethnicity, and race. Demographic variables with significant associations with stress were included as covariates in the hierarchical regressions. Hierarchical linear regressions were conducted to examine the effect of CAPS and LSC-R on baseline Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores. Results Higher CAPS scores (indicating higher PTSD severity) were associated with worse cognitive outcomes on the MoCA [ΔF(1,269) = 15.058, p < 0.001, R2 = 0.116]. By contrast, number of stressful experiences was not associated with cognitive outcomes. Follow up analyses indicated that CAPS severity scores were significantly associated with the memory index and the attention index of the MoCA. Conclusions In a sample of older veterans, PTSD symptom severity was associated with worse performance on the MoCA. Moreover, further analyses indicated that results within the memory and attention domains are driving these results. As such, treating PTSD symptoms may be helpful in maintaining cognitive function as adults age.

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