Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T02:55:50.072Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Cognitive Factors in Persistent versus Recovered Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after Physical or Sexual Assault: A Pilot Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 June 2009

Emma Dunmore ,
David M. Clark  and
Anke Ehlers
Emma Dunmore
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford
David M. Clark
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford
Anke Ehlers
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Cognitive models have linked individual differences in the appraisal of traumatic events and their sequelae to the persistence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A pilot study investigated this proposal with victims of assault. Eleven assault victims suffering from persistent PTSD and 9 victims who had recovered from PTSD were interviewed retrospectively and compared on potentially relevant cognitive factors. Groups were comparable in terms of characteristics of the assault, gender, age, and initial PTSD severity. Participants with persistent PTSD were less likely than those who had recovered to have engaged in mental planning during the assault and more likely to have experienced mental defeat, and to indicate negative appraisals of their actions during the assault, of others' reactions after the assault, and of their initial PTSD symptoms. They were also more likely to indicate global negative beliefs concerning their perception of themselves, their world or their future. These cognitive factors may maintain PTSD symptoms either directly or by motivating the individual to engage in behaviour that prevents change.

Type
Clinical Section
Information
Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy , Volume 25 , Issue 2 , April 1997 , pp. 147 - 159
Copyright
Copyright © British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies 1997

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Psychiatric Association (1987). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3rd rev. ed.). Washington, DC: APA.Google Scholar
Clark, D.M. (1986). A cognitive approach to panic disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 24, 461–470.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davis, R.C., Brickman, E.R., & Baker, T. (1991). Effects of supportive and unsupportive responses of others to rape victims: Effects of current victim adjustment. American Journal of Community Psychology, 19, 443–451.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ehlers, A., Margraf, J., & Roth, W.T. (1988). Selective information processing, interoception, and panic attacks. In Hand, I. & Wittchen, H.U. (Eds.), Panic and Phobias II, New York: Springer-Verlag.Google Scholar
Ehlers, A. & Steil, R. (1995). Maintenance of intrusive memories in posttraumatic stress disorder: A cognitive approach. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 23, 217–249.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ehlers, A., Clark, D.M., Winton, E.C., Jaycox, L., Meadows, M., & Foa, E.B. (in press). Predicting response to exposure treatment for PTSD: The role of mental defeat and alienation. Journal of Traumatic Stress.Google Scholar
Foa, E.B. & Riggs, D.S. (1993). Post-traumatic stress disorder in rape victims. American Psychiatric Press Review of Psychiatry, 12, Washington, DC:Google Scholar
Foa, E.B., Riggs, D.S., Dancu, C.V., & Rothbaum, B.O. (1993). Reliability and validity of a brief instrument for assessing post-traumatic stress disorder. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 6, 459–473.Google Scholar
Foa, E.B., Riggs, D.S., Massie, E.D., & Yarczower, M. (1995). The impact of fear activation and anger on the efficacy of exposure treatment for PTSD. Behaviour Therapy, 26, 489–499.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Foa, E.B., Steketee, G., & Rothbaum, B.O. (1989). Behaviour/cognitive conceptualization of post-traumatic stress disorder. Behaviour Therapy, 20, 155–176.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Foa, E.B., Zinbarg, R., & Rothbaum, B.O. (1992). Uncontrollability and unpredictability in post-traumatic stress disorder: An animal model. Psychological Bulletin, 112, 218–238.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Frazier, P. & Schauben, L. (1994). Causal attributions and recovery from rape and other stressful life events. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 13, 1–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Janoff-Bulman, R. & Frieze, I.H. (1983). A theoretical perspective for understanding reactions to victimisation. Journal of Social Issues, 37, 105–122.Google Scholar
Joseph, S., Andrews, B., Williams, R., & Yule, W. (1992). Crisis support and psychiatric symptomatology in adult survivors of the Jupiter cruise ship disaster. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 31, 63–73.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Joseph, S.A., Brewin, C.R., Yule, W., & Williams, R. (1991). Causal attributions and psychiatric symptoms in survivors of the Herald of Free Enterprise Disaster. British Journal of Psychiatry, 150, 542–546.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Joseph, S.A., Brewin, C.R., Yule, W., & Williams, R. (1993). Causal attributions and posttraumatic stress in adolescents. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 34, 247–253.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Keane, T.M., Scott, W.O., Chavoya, G.A., Lamparski, D.M., & Fairbank, J.A. (1985). Social support in Vietnam veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder: A comparative analysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 53, 95–102.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kilpatrick, D.G., Saunders, B.E., Amick-McMullan, A., Best, C.L., Veronen, L.J., & Resnick, H.S. (1989). Victim and crime factors associated with the development of crime-related post-traumatic stress disorder. Behaviour Therapy, 20, 199–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mineka, S. (1985). Animal models of anxiety based disorders: Their usefulness and limitations. In Tuma, A.H. & Maser, J.D. (Eds.), Anxiety and the anxiety disorders. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Resick, P.A., Schnicke, M.K., & Markway, G. (1991). Relationship between cognitive content and posttraumatic stress disorder.Presented at the Association of Advancement of Behavior Therapy,New York.November.Google Scholar
Riggs, D.S., Rothbaum, B.O., Foa, E.B. (1995). A prospective examination of symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder in victims of nonsexual assault. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 10, 201–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Riggs, D.S., Foa, E.B., Rothbaum, B.O., & Murdock, T. (1991). Post-traumatic stress disorder following rape and non-sexual assault: A predictive model. Unpublished manuscript.Google Scholar
Riggs, D.S., Dancu, C.V., Gershuny, B.S., Greenberg, D., & Foa, E.B. (1992). Anger and post-traumatic stress disorder in female crime victims. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 5, 613–625.Google Scholar
Rothbaum, B.O., Foa, E.B., RiggsD.S, Murdock, T. D.S, Murdock, T., & Walsh, W. (1992). A prospective examinations of post-traumatic stress disorder in rape victims. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 5, 455–475.Google Scholar
Steil, R., Frommberger, U., & Ehlers, A. (in preparation). Intrusive memories of accidents: A prospective study.Google Scholar
Taylor, S., Koch, W.J., & McNally, R.J. (1992). How does anxiety sensitivity vary across the anxiety disorders? Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 6, 249–259.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ulman, S.E. (1995). Impact of social relations of sexual assault victims. Submitted for publication.Google Scholar
Vaughan, K. & Tarrier, N. (1992). The use of image habituation training with post-traumatic stress disorders. British Journal of Psychiatry, 161, 658–664.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wenninger, K. & Ehlers, A. (1995). Dysfunctional cognitions and adult psychological functioning in child sexual abuse survivors. Submitted for publication.Google Scholar
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.