Trauma reactivity, avoidant coping, and PTSD symptoms: A moderating relationship?

Abstract

In the immediate aftermath of a traumatic event, many individuals experience physiological reactivity in response to reminders of the traumatic event that typically lessens over time. However, an overreliance on avoidant coping strategies may interfere with the natural recovery process, particularly for those who are highly reactive to trauma reminders. In the current investigation, we examined avoidant coping as a moderator of the association between heart rate reactivity to a trauma monologue measured shortly after a traumatic event and severity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms measured several months later. Fifty-five female survivors of assault completed PTSD diagnostic interviews and a self-report coping measure and participated in a trauma monologue procedure that included continuous heart rate measurement. These procedures were completed within 1 month of the assault and again 3 months postassault. After we controlled for the effect of initial symptom levels, the interaction of heart rate reactivity to the trauma monologue and avoidant coping measured at Time 1 was associated with PTSD symptom severity at Time 2. Individuals who are relatively highly reliant on avoidant coping strategies and relatively highly reactive to trauma reminders may be at greatest risk of maintaining or potentially increasing their PTSD symptoms within the first few months following the trauma. These findings may help inform early intervention efforts for survivors of traumatic events.

Dissociative subtype of DSM-5 posttraumatic stress disorder in U.S. veterans

“…This finding was contrary to our hypothesis and to a prior study which found a greater likelihood of sexual trauma among individuals with PTSD and dissociative symptoms than those with only PTSD (Wolf et al, 2012b), but is consistent with findings from the WHO World Mental Health Surveys (Stein et al, 2013). It may be that an individual's response and ability to cope with a potentially traumatic event has a larger role in determining the development of dissociative symptoms than the type of trauma per se (Pineles et al, 2011;Solomon et al, 1988). But further research is needed to evaluate the effect of type of trauma on dissociative symptoms in PTSD, including measures assessing the degree of trauma exposure for different trauma events.…”

Illness perceptions and coping predict post-traumatic stress in caregivers of patients with head and neck cancer

“…Caregivers who spend more time diverting their thinking away from oesophageal cancer report more symptoms of both depression and anxiety [14]. Furthermore, research investigating avoidant coping and PTSD in other groups has found that the use of avoidant coping strategies prevents recovery from the disorder and is associated with increased symptom severity over time [36,37]. This is likely because avoidant coping strategies prevent anything from being done to actively manage a stressor and can result in a paradoxical increase in intrusive thoughts [30].…”

Percepción de la experiencia de violencia doméstica en mujeres víctimas de maltrato de pareja

“…Asimismo, Pineles et al (2011) plantean que los individuos relativamente muy dependientes de las estrategias de afrontamiento de evitación y relativamente muy reactivos a los recuerdos del trauma pueden estar en mayor riesgo de mantener o incrementar potencialmente los síntomas de estrés postraumático en los primeros meses después del trauma.…”