Psychology Commons^™

Cognitive Processes And Race Differences: Possible Factors Contributing To Ptsd, Christina Fay

Student Dissertations & Theses

Past research suggest differences in racial group’s perceived experiences in traumatic situations and different ways of coping can affect individual levels of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. The author examined how race, methods of coping and risk/resilience factors interact with PTSD symptomology. A total of 28 Black, Hispanic and Non Hispanic Caucasian Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) veterans were assessed for PTSD symptoms, methods of coping and risk/resilience factors related to deployment. Findings indicate no significant differences for minorities and non Hispanic Caucasians on level of PTSD symptoms. Findings indicate significant differences between minorities and non Hispanic Caucasians on …

Trajectories Of Ptsd And Substance Use Disorders In A Longitudinal Study Of Personality Disorders, Meghan E. Mcdevitt-Murphy, Gilbert R. Parra, Carlos M. Grilo, Thomas H. Mcglashan, Andrew E. Skodol, M. Tracie Shea, Shirley Yen, Charles A. Sanislow, John G. Gunderson, John C. Markowitz

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

This study investigated the co-occurrence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorders (SUDs) in a sample (N = 668) recruited for personality disorders and followed longitudinally as part of the Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study. The study both examined rates of co-occurring disorders at baseline and temporal relationships between PTSD and substance use disorders over 4 years. Subjects with a lifetime history of PTSD at baseline had significantly higher rates of SUDs (both alcohol and drug) than subjects without PTSD. Latent class growth analysis, a relatively novel approach used to analyze trajectories and identify homogeneous subgroups of participant …

Trajectories Of Ptsd And Substance Use Disorders In A Longitudinal Study Of Personality Disorders, Meghan E. Mcdevitt-Murphy, Gilbert R. Parra, M. Tracie Shea, Shirley Yen, Carlos M. Grilo, Charles A. Sanislow, Thomas H. Mcglashan, John G. Gunderson, Andrew E. Skodol, John C. Markowitz

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

Attachment: The Antidote To Trauma, Joshua Straub

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Trauma and loss in life are inevitable. And all too often the traumatic experience itself can be enough to paralyze the mental, emotional, and spiritual state of any given person. Unable to interpret the traumatic experience, many instead are left defined by it. Helping clients discern the objective experience and their subjective reactions to it will help free them from the emotions and beliefs that subsequently control their lives. Based on the most relevant attachment theory research and clinical techniques, this workshop teaches the attentional strategies necessary to helping clients overcome trauma.

Gender And Ptsd: What Can We Learn From Female Police Officers?, Michelle M. Lilly, Nnamdi Pole, Suzanne R. Best, Thomas Metzler, Charles R. Marmar

Psychology: Faculty Publications

Studies of civilians typically find that female gender is a risk factor for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Police and military studies often find no gender differences in PTSD. We compared 157 female police officers and 124 female civilians on several variables including trauma exposure, peritraumatic emotional distress, current somatization, and cumulative PTSD symptoms. We found that despite greater exposure to assaultive violence in the officer group, female civilians reported significantly more severe PTSD symptoms. Elevated PTSD symptoms in female civilians were explained by significantly more intense peritraumatic emotional distress among female civilians. We also found that female officers showed a …

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder In Combat Veterans And The Effect On Their Life And Marital Satisfaction, Amy Rodriguez Alford

Student Dissertations & Theses

Various studies have been conducted within our United States military service members and their problems with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). There are several factors as to why a combat veteran can develop PTSD (Committee on Gulf War and Health, 2008) , PTSD could effect their life and marital satisfaction. The present study consisted of 15 married couples, in which the husband has served combat duty in Iraq or Afghanistan. The total level of PTSD symptomology was compared to each individual's life and marital satisfaction. There was no significance correlations found between the husbands' PTSD symptoms and their quality of life, …

Prospective Prediction Of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Using Fear Potentiated Auditory Startle Responses, Nnamdi Pole, Thomas C. Neylan, Christian Otte, Clare Henn-Hasse, Thomas J. Metzler, Charles R. Marmar

Psychology: Faculty Publications

Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been most consistently associated with exaggerated physiologic reactivity to startling sounds when such sounds occur in threatening contexts. There is conflicting evidence about whether startle hyperreactivity is a preexisting vulnerability factor for PTSD or an acquired result of posttrauma neural sensitization. Until now, there have been no prospective studies of physiologic reactivity to startling sounds in threatening contexts as predictors of PTSD symptoms. Methods: One hundred and thirty-eight police academy cadets without current psychopathology were exposed to repeated 106-dB startling sounds under increasing (low, medium, or high) threat of mild electric shock while their …

The Traumatic Events Inventory: Preliminary Investigation Of A New Ptsd Questionnaire, Kirk Robert Bryant

ETD Archive

The purpose of this study was to assess the preliminary psychometrics of the Traumatic Events Inventory (TEI), a new Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) scale designed to identify individuals who are malingering. Participants were students and members of the community who were instructed to feign PTSD or to perform normally. The internal consistencies of the TEI full-scale as well as the subscales were high. Construct validity was examined by comparing scores on TEI to participants' performance on malingering indices of the TMT, the Digit Span, the Digit Symbol, and the RAVLT. The TEI full-scale, as well as many of the …

Law Enforcement Preferences For Ptsd Treatment And Crisis Management Alternatives, Carolyn Becker, Glenn Meyer, J. S. Price, M. M. Graham, Ashley Arsena, D. A. Armstrong, Elizabeth Ramon

Psychology Faculty Research

Evidence-based treatments (EBT) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) remain underutilized. Analog research, however, indicates that patients may be more amenable to receiving EBT for PTSD than utilization rates suggest. This study sought to extend previous studies by investigating PTSD treatment preferences among law enforcement individuals (i.e., active duty officers, cadets, criminal justice students). We asked 379 participants, with varying trauma histories, to read a police traumatic event and imagine they had developed PTSD. Participants rated the credibility of six treatment options which they might encounter in a treatment setting, and chose their most and least preferred treatments. Next, they evaluated …

Environmental Effects On Adolescents Exposed To Hurricane Katrina, Karen Laslie Davidson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Adolescents in New Orleans were displaced by hurricane Katrina and returned to find their city devastated by this natural disaster. Although many studies have found a relationship between hurricane exposure and development of psychopathology, the current study evaluated this relationship within the context of protective and risk factors. Specifically, the current study evaluated whether community violence, parent support, and peer support moderated the relationship between hurricane exposure and adolescent PTSD or depression. Results found no relationship between hurricane exposure and adolescent depression. Although there was a main effect for hurricane exposure and PTSD, the proposed variables did not moderate this …

The Role Of Hurricane Exposure And Life Disruption As Predictors Of Child Post-Traumatic Stress Symptomatology Following Hurricane Katrina, Angie Lynn Pellegrin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

While many children emotionally recover following a disaster (Salzer & Bickman, 1999), possibly one-third of children will experience significant psychological distress or post-traumatic stress symptoms which cause interference with their daily school and home functioning (Vernberg, La Greca, Silverman, & Prinstein, 1996). Research supports the role that exposure, loss, and disruption play in increasing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) severity in children following disasters (La Greca, Silverman, Vernberg, Prinstein, 1996; Verberg et al., 1996). However, there are no assessments or questionnaires that have investigated what type of events during and following a hurricane are most predictive of post-traumatic stress reactions. Using …

Prospective Effects Of Sexual Victimization On Ptsd And Problem Drinking, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Sarah E. Ullman

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and problem drinking are common and often co-occurring sequelae experienced by women survivors of adult sexual assault, yet it remains unclear whether survivors drink to cope with PTSD symptoms or whether PTSD symptoms are exacerbated by drinking. Thus, we used a cross-lagged panel design with a large (N = 555), ethnically diverse sample of women assault survivors to determine whether PTSD prospectively led to problem drinking or vice versa. We also examined whether cumulative sexual victimization experiences related to greater PTSD and problem drinking. Structural equation modeling revealed that child sexual abuse was associated with …

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder In Women After Hurricane Katrina: Predictors And Symptom Endorsement, Julia E. Thompson

LSU Master's Theses

Hurricane Katrina devastated areas of New Orleans and caused the evacuation of most of the city’s residents. Many people were exposed to dangerous storms and flooding and lost many of their possessions. One of the most common psychological disorders following a disaster is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. This study describes the PTSD symptom endorsement of a sample of women who experienced Hurricane Katrina. In addition, many of these women had previous trauma histories which are also described. Participants included 287 women from New Orleans, Jefferson and East Baton Rouge Parish recruited for a larger study on mother’s and children’s psychological functioning …