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Emotional Response Patterns And Emotional Numbing In Adult Female Victims Of Sexual Assault With Ptsd, Tristan A. Robinson

Dissertations

DSM symptoms of emotional numbing appear to have a major impact on the course and outcome of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), yet the construct definition of emotional numbing itself has not been clearly established. Two opposing conceptualizations of this construct have been proposed in the traumatic stress literature. One holds numbing to be a form of non-effortful emotional avoidance, akin to dissociation, that results in diminished responsiveness to emotional stimuli in general (Foa, Zinbarg, & Rothbaum, 1992; Foa & Hearst-Ikeda, 1996). The other suggests that numbing entails a deficit in responsiveness to positive emotional stimuli but not to negative emotional …

Predictors Of Ptsd Symptoms For Criterion A And Non-Criterion A Events, Sarah Reiland

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This study evaluated the current DSM-IV conceptualization of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It examined predictors (i.e., event, person, and cognitive characteristics) and the factor structure of PTSD symptoms for events that do and do not meet criterion A. Event, person, and cognitive variables included in this study explained 47% of the variance in PTSD symptoms for the criterion A group and 56% of the variance in PTSD symptoms for the noncriterion A group. In both groups, cognitive variables explained the majority of variance in PTSD symptom severity. Although predictors of PTSD symptoms varied for criterion A and non-qualifying events, the …

The Impact Of Prior Sexual Victimization And Victim Identification On Threat Recognition In A College Sample, Katherine Porter

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Previous research on sexual assault has demonstrated a pattern of revictimization, in which victims of childhood sexual assault are at an increased risk for adult sexual assault (e.g., Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000). Previous findings indicate that participants with a history of sexual assault take longer to identify and respond to risks (Marx et al., 2001; Soler-Baillo et al., 2005; Wilson et al., 1999), are less likely to respond in assertive ways (VanZile-Tamsen et al., 2005), and are more likely to indicate that they would be compliant in risky sexual situations (Naugle, 1999).

The present study attempted to replicate and expand …

The Influence Of Ethnicity And Gender On The Relationship Between Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Status And Cardiovascular Responding, Alison Eonta

Theses and Dissertations

Past research has found inconsistent effects of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) status on cardiovascular responding. Inconsistencies may be explained by demographic differences in study samples. In this study, the influence of gender and ethnicity on the relationship between PTSD status and cardiovascular responding was explored. Participants’ (N = 245) heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) readings were taken throughout baseline and anger recall periods. For all gender by ethnicity groups, baseline HR was higher in participants with PTSD than without PTSD, except for Black men. Whites with PTSD had lower baseline SBP than Whites …

Perceived Organizational Support As A Predictor Of Stigma And Treatment Seeking For Psychological Problems, Christie Kelley

All Theses

Research has shown that the stigma of psychological problems is related to decreased treatment seeking for psychological problems. Utilizing a longitudinal design and a military sample, this study found contrary results, instead supporting the relationship between Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Symptomology and treatment seeking. A relationship between Perceived Organizational Support (POS), or how much organizations value the contributions and well-being of their employees (Eisenberger et al., 1986), and PTSD Symptomology also emerged. POS was negatively related to stigma, and stigma partially mediated the relationship between POS and PTSD Symptomology. Contrary to hypotheses, stigma did not mediate the relationship between …

Gender Differences In Severity And Symptoms Of Post War Trauma And The Effects Of Persisting Psychological Trauma On Quality Of Life Among Bosnian Refugees Living In The United States, Irina Bransteter

ETD Archive

Bosnian refugees, living in Cleveland Ohio, completed questionnaires during the months of March and April of 2009. This study sample consisted of 41 participants, 21 males and 20 females, who have lived in Bosnia for any duration of time during the civil war that took place between May of 1992 to November of 1995. This study employed several assessment measures: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL), Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90-R) and Multidimensional Index of Life Quality (MILQ). The Following hypothesis were proposed: 1) Manifestation of PTSD symptoms of post war trauma will be significantly higher amongst the …

The Impact Of Cartel Related Violence On Ongoing Traumatic Stress And Self-Medication In Young Adults Living Along The U.S./México Border, Thom J. Taylor

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Ongoing Potentially Traumatic Stress (OPTS) as a result of violence and insecurity along the U.S./México border remains understudied. Many residents of the border may be both indirectly and directly exposed to potentially traumatic events on an ongoing basis, particularly in the city of Cd. Juárez, México. The present study examined the impact of the violence and insecurity on daily traumatic stress levels and the potential for self-medication via alcohol, cigarettes, and illicit drugs within Spanish speaking young adult residents and commuters to Cd. Juárez, Chihuahua, México. Participants (N = 121) completed multiple online reports of location in and travel to …

A Comparison Of The Dsm-Iv And Proposed Dsm-V Ptsd Criteria For Youth: Factor Analyses Conducted With A Low Socioeconomic Status, Hurricane-Exposed Sample, Valerie Paasch

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of New Orleans, exposing residents to dangerous storms and significant flooding which resulted in the loss of many families’ homes and possessions. One of the most common psychological disorders experienced by disaster victims, both adult and child, is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Given the debate over the appropriateness of applying adult DSM-IV-TR criteria to children and the current formulation of DSM-V criteria, this study further explored the presentation of PTSD symptomatology in a sample of 276 youth who experienced Hurricane Katrina. Proposed DSM-V criteria were assessed with participant responses on the UCLA PTSD Index for DSM-IV …