Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in trauma-exposed college students: The role of trauma-related cognitions, gender, and negative affect

Abstract

Considerable evidence indicates a prominent role for trauma-related cognitions in the development and maintenance of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. The present study utilized regression analysis to examine the unique relationships between various trauma-related cognitions and PTSD symptoms after controlling for gender and measures of general affective distress in a large sample of trauma-exposed college students. In terms of trauma-related cognitions, only negative cognitions about the self were related to PTSD symptom severity. Gender and anxiety symptoms were also related to PTSD symptom severity. Theoretical implications of the results are discussed. KeywordsPosttraumatic Stress Disorder; PTSD; Cognitions; Anxiety; Trauma Exposure to traumatic events is quite common, with estimated lifetime rates ranging from 26% to 92.2% in men and from 17.7% to 87.1% in women (Breslau, Davis, Andreski, & Peterson, 1991;Breslau et al., 1999;Creamer, Burgess, & McFarlane, 2001;Kessler et al., 1995;Norris, 1992;Perkonigg, Kessler, Storz, & Wittchen, 2000;Resnick, Kilpatrick, Dansky, Saunders, & Best, 1993;Stein et al., 1997). Although many people experience trauma, only a subset of these individuals subsequently develops posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Lifetime prevalence rates for PTSD range from 1% to 12.3% (Breslau, Davis, Andreski, & Peterson, 1991;Davidson, Hughes, Blazer, & George, 1991;Kessler et al., 1995;Resnick et al., 1993) and current rates of PTSD range from .4% to .9% (Andrews et al., 2001;Perkonigg et al., 2000). PTSD tends to have a chronic course, with as many as 40% continuing to exhibit significant symptoms of the disorder 10 years after its onset (Kessler et al., 1995).Several theories underscore the role that cognitive variables play in the development and maintenance of PTSD (Ehlers & Clark, 2000; Epstien, 1991;Foa & Cahill, 2001;Foa & Jaycox, 1999;Foa & Riggs, 1993;Foa & Rothbaum, 1998;Horowitz, 1986;Janoff-Bulman, 1992;McCann & Pearlman, 1990;Resick & Schnicke, 1992). Utilizing the framework of emotional processing theory (Foa & Kozak, 1986), Foa and colleagues have emphasized the role of cognitions about the self and the world in natural recovery from trauma, the development of Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Jason S. Moser, Department of Psychology, University of Delaware, Newark, DE. Email: jmoser@psych.udel.edu. Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. PTSD, and the CBT processes that ameliorate PTSD symptoms severity. The theory is rooted in information processing models of memory and psychop...

Metacognitive and Metamemory Beliefs in the Development and Maintenance of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

“…world/self-blame; Bryant & Guthrie, 2005;Foa & Rauch, 2004;Moser, Hajcak, Simons, & Foa, 2007). This result is not surprising, given substantial conceptual overlap between negative self-related cognition, and symptoms, as well as with our other key variables.…”

Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory (PTCI): Psychometric properties and gender differences in an Israeli sample

“…The importance of gender in PTSD is reflected in the robust finding that women are more prone to develop PTSD than men (see Tolin & Foa, 2006 for review). Indeed, Moser and colleagues have found that the SELF factor remained associated with PTSD severity even after statically controlling for gender, while this was not the case for the WORLD and the BLAME factors (Moser, Hajcak, Simons, & Foa, 2007). In this paper we further examine the relation between posttraumatic cognitions and PTSD severity for men and women separately.…”

A new perspective on PTSD symptoms after traumatic vs stressful life events and the role of gender

“…Men and women tend to experience different types of A1 events but, even after controlling for type of experienced A1 event, the gender differences in PTSD prevalence remain (Christiansen & Hansen, 2015; Moser, Hajcak, Simons, & Foa, 2007; Tolin & Foa, 2008). It is still unknown whether the increased vulnerability in women to develop PTSD after experiencing A1 events also extends to the experience of non-A1 events.…”