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No distance is too far between friends: Associations of comfortable interpersonal distance with PTSD and anxiety symptoms in traumatized individuals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2021

S. Haim-Nachum ,
M.R. Sopp ,
T. Michael ,
S. Shamay-Tsoory  and
E. Levy-Gigi
S. Haim-Nachum*
Affiliation:
Education, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
M.R. Sopp
Affiliation:
Department Of Psychology, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany
T. Michael
Affiliation:
Department Of Psychology, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany
S. Shamay-Tsoory
Affiliation:
Psychology Department, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
E. Levy-Gigi
Affiliation:
Education, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Previous research indicates that traumatized individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms may show alterations in interpersonal distance regulation that are not evident in traumatized individuals without PTSD symptoms. However, the underlying mechanisms of these alterations are yet to be investigated. Moreover, it is not clear whether altered interpersonal distance regulation is correlated with trauma-related psychopathology.

Objectives

The current study investigated behavioral and neurophysiological markers of interpersonal distance regulation as predictors of PTSD and anxiety in traumatized firefighters.

Methods

Twenty-four active-duty firefighters (M = 30.58, SD = 3.62) completed an experimental task that measures comfortable interpersonal distance. During the task, event-related potentials were recorded to assess attentional processing as reflected in the P1 and N1 components. Trauma-related psychopathology was assessed using the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale and the state version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory.

Results

Participants who did not choose a closer distance towards friends as compared to strangers experienced greater anxiety post-trauma. On a neurophysiological level, participants who showed attentional avoidance towards strangers reported more PTSD symptoms. By contrast, participants who showed hypervigilant attention towards strangers reported greater anxiety.

Conclusions

The results demonstrate associations between interpersonal distance regulation and psychopathology after trauma, shedding light on the underlying processes of interpersonal distance regulation in anxiety and PTSD. Future studies should re-investigate these associations in a larger sample and explore potential implications for the prevention and treatment of trauma-related psychopathology.

Keywords

ptsdAnxietyERPInterpersonal distance
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 64 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 29th European Congress of Psychiatry , April 2021 , pp. S449
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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