Phillip A Raab1, Margaret-Anne Mackintosh1, Daniel F Gros2, Leslie A Morland3. 1. a National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Pacific Islands Division, Department of Veterans Affairs Pacific Islands Healthcare System , Honolulu. 2. b Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences , Medical University of South Carolina , Charleston. 3. c National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Pacific Islands Division, Department of Veterans Affairs Pacific Islands Healthcare System and the Department of Psychiatry, John A. Burns School of Medicine , University of Hawaii-Manoa , Honolulu.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Cognitive theories have proposed the idea of content specificity, which holds that emotional disorders are associated with unique sets of negative cognitions. The existent research exploring the content specificity related to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression is sparse, and research is especially needed in veteran samples. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations of PTSD symptom clusters and comorbid depressive symptoms with posttraumatic cognitions. METHOD: This study was cross-sectional in design, and the sample consisted of data from 150 male combat veterans with PTSD drawn from the baseline assessments of a large clinical trial. Analyses involved a series of separate and simultaneous linear regressions to examine the unique associations of comorbid depressive symptoms and PTSD symptom clusters with posttraumatic cognitions, as well as post hoc analyses to examine the mediational role of comorbid depressive symptoms. RESULTS: Findings demonstrated that posttraumatic negative cognitions about the self and self-blame were most strongly associated with comorbid depressive symptoms and the depression-related PTSD numbing cluster. Comorbid depressive symptoms also partially mediated nearly all the relationships between posttraumatic cognitions and PTSD symptom clusters. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study suggest that posttraumatic cognitions about the self and self-blame are not specific to PTSD but rather are more strongly related to symptoms of depression and negative affect. The results also suggest a potential pathway from posttraumatic cognitions to PTSD through the partially mediating influence of comorbid depression, and highlight the need to assess and treat comorbid depression in veterans with PTSD.
OBJECTIVE: Cognitive theories have proposed the idea of content specificity, which holds that emotional disorders are associated with unique sets of negative cognitions. The existent research exploring the content specificity related to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression is sparse, and research is especially needed in veteran samples. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations of PTSD symptom clusters and comorbid depressive symptoms with posttraumatic cognitions. METHOD: This study was cross-sectional in design, and the sample consisted of data from 150 male combat veterans with PTSD drawn from the baseline assessments of a large clinical trial. Analyses involved a series of separate and simultaneous linear regressions to examine the unique associations of comorbid depressive symptoms and PTSD symptom clusters with posttraumatic cognitions, as well as post hoc analyses to examine the mediational role of comorbid depressive symptoms. RESULTS: Findings demonstrated that posttraumatic negative cognitions about the self and self-blame were most strongly associated with comorbid depressive symptoms and the depression-related PTSD numbing cluster. Comorbid depressive symptoms also partially mediated nearly all the relationships between posttraumatic cognitions and PTSD symptom clusters. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study suggest that posttraumatic cognitions about the self and self-blame are not specific to PTSD but rather are more strongly related to symptoms of depression and negative affect. The results also suggest a potential pathway from posttraumatic cognitions to PTSD through the partially mediating influence of comorbid depression, and highlight the need to assess and treat comorbid depression in veterans with PTSD.
Authors: Philip Held; Brian J Klassen; Denise S Zou; Blake S Schroedter; Niranjan S Karnik; Mark H Pollack; Alyson K Zalta Journal: J Trauma Stress Date: 2017-11-15