PTSD symptom severity relates to cognitive and psycho-social dysfunctioning – a study with Congolese refugees in Uganda

Ainamani, Herbert E.; Elbert, Thomas; Olema, David Kani; Hecker, Tobias

doi:10.1080/20008198.2017.1283086

Cited by 44 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…The majority of participants reported that they had lacked food, water, or shelter; stayed in a war zone; or experienced a violent attack by strangers, imprisonment, or torture. The reported traumatic experiences were similar to those reported by other refugees who had to leave their homes due to war and political violence (e.g., Ainamani, Elbert, Olema, & Hecker, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

Differential Associations Among PTSD and Complex PTSD Symptoms and Traumatic Experiences and Postmigration Difficulties in a Culturally Diverse Refugee Sample

Hecker

Huber

Maier

et al. 2018

Journal of Traumatic Stress

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Forced migration is one of the major challenges currently facing the international community. Many refugees have been affected by traumatic experiences at home and during their flight, putting them at a heightened risk of developing trauma‐related disorders. The new version of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD‐11) introduced two sibling disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex PTSD (CPTSD). So far, little is known about risk and protective factors in refugees that are specifically associated with the disturbances in self‐organization (DSO) characteristic of CPTSD. In this study, we aimed to investigate the association between PTSD and DSO symptoms and traumatic experiences, postmigration difficulties, and social support in a culturally diverse sample of refugees who resettled in Switzerland. A total of 94 refugees (85.1% male; M age = 31.60 years, SD = 10.14, range: 18–61 years) participated in this study. Trained assessors performed either guided questionnaire assessments or structured interviews. In our advice‐ and help‐seeking sample, 32.9% of individuals suffered from PTSD and 21.3% from CPTSD. After controlling for potential gender differences, we found positive associations between PTSD symptoms and trauma exposure, β = .22, as well as between DSO symptoms and postmigration living difficulties, β = .42, and lack of social support, β = .22. Our findings support the notion that it is highly important to consider differential associations among PTSD and DSO symptoms and risk and protective factors to gain a deeper understanding of the trauma‐related problems refugees face.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

Differential Associations Among PTSD and Complex PTSD Symptoms and Traumatic Experiences and Postmigration Difficulties in a Culturally Diverse Refugee Sample

Hecker

Huber

Maier

et al. 2018

Journal of Traumatic Stress

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“…It examined the pathophysiological mechanisms of the visual working memory in trauma survivors. Importantly, the current work used a model that predicts visual working memory and further studied the neuromechanisms of visual working memory in the distributed network of brain regions of trauma survivors, laying the foundation for RDoC [56]. This study found that visual working memory was negatively correlated with the severity of PTSD symptoms (see Additional file 1: Part 9).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Exploring memory function in earthquake trauma survivors with resting-state fMRI and machine learning

Zhu

Ren

et al. 2020

BMC Psychiatry

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Background: Traumatized earthquake survivors may develop poor memory function. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and machine learning techniques may one day aid the clinical assessment of individual psychiatric patients. This study aims to use machine learning with Rs-fMRI from the perspectives of neurophysiology and neuroimaging to explore the association between it and the individual memory function of trauma survivors. Methods: Rs-fMRI data was acquired for eighty-nine survivors (male (33%), average age (SD):45.18(6.31) years) of Wenchuan earthquakes in 2008 each of whom was screened by experienced psychiatrists based on the clinicianadministered post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) scale (CAPS), and their memory function scores were determined by the Wechsler Memory Scale-IV (WMS-IV). We explored which memory function scores were significantly associated with CAPS scores. Using simple multiple kernel learning (MKL), Rs-fMRI was used to predict the memory function scores that were associated with CAPS scores. A support vector machine (SVM) was also used to make classifications in trauma survivors with or without PTSD. Results: Spatial addition (SA), which is defined by spatial working memory function, was negatively correlated with the total CAPS score (r = − 0.22, P = 0.04). The use of simple MKL allowed quantitative association of SA scores with statistically significant accuracy (correlation = 0.28, P = 0.03; mean squared error = 8.36; P = 0.04). The left middle frontal gyrus and the left precuneus contributed the largest proportion to the simple MKL association frame. The SVM could not make a quantitative classification of diagnosis with statistically significant accuracy. Limitations: The use of the cross-sectional study design after exposure to an earthquake and the leave-one-out cross-validation (LOOCV) increases the risk of overfitting. Conclusion: Spontaneous brain activity of the left middle frontal gyrus and the left precuneus acquired by rs-fMRI may be a brain mechanism of visual working memory that is related to PTSD symptoms. Machine learning may be a useful tool in the identification of brain mechanisms of memory impairment in trauma survivors.

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“…The Institutional Review Board of the Mbarara University of Science and Technology as well as the Ugandan National Council for Science and Technology approved the study. Other results from this extensive data assessment are presented by Hecker et al (2015) and by Ainamani, Elbert, Olema, and Hecker (2017).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the Potential Distinction Between Continuous Traumatic Stress and Posttraumatic Stress in an East African Refugee Sample

Hecker

Ainamani

Hermenau

et al. 2017

Clinical Psychological Science

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The latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013) defines posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a potential reaction to one or more traumatic experiences, which is accompanied by symptoms of intrusions (e.g., intrusive images, nightmares, flashbacks), avoidance (e.g., avoiding thoughts or people related to the trauma), cognitive and emotional disturbances (e.g., emotional numbing, negative self-concept), and hyperarousal (e.g., being very alert or easily startled). PTSD is the most frequently researched consequence of exposure to life-threatening experiences (Olff et al., 2015). However, the PTSD concept may not apply to psychopathological responses to traumatic stressors in all contexts (Eagle & Kaminer, 2013; Kaysen, Resick, & Wise, 2003; Kilpatrick, 2005), especially when recorded under conditions of current and ongoing life threats. The concept of continuous traumatic stress (CTS; Eagle & Kaminer, 2013) was developed to account for the maladaptive responses resulting from exposure to continuous traumatic stressors, which are experienced by many individuals living under unsafe conditions (Stevens, Eagle, Kaminer, & Higson-Smith, 2013). Its conceptualization came about through studies of political violence and state oppression in South Africa in the 1980s (Eagle & Kaminer, 2013). During this time, many people were exposed to life-threatening events on a daily basis (Turton, Straker, & Moosa, 1990), and CTS was introduced to acknowledge these adverse and often life-threatening circumstances and to categorize the psychological response to these. The high crime and 717023C PXXXX10.

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PTSD symptom severity relates to cognitive and psycho-social dysfunctioning – a study with Congolese refugees in Uganda

Cited by 44 publications

References 55 publications

Differential Associations Among PTSD and Complex PTSD Symptoms and Traumatic Experiences and Postmigration Difficulties in a Culturally Diverse Refugee Sample

Differential Associations Among PTSD and Complex PTSD Symptoms and Traumatic Experiences and Postmigration Difficulties in a Culturally Diverse Refugee Sample

Exploring memory function in earthquake trauma survivors with resting-state fMRI and machine learning

Exploring the Potential Distinction Between Continuous Traumatic Stress and Posttraumatic Stress in an East African Refugee Sample

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