Andres G Viana1, Daniel J Paulus2, Jafar Bakhshaie2, Monica Garza3, Jeanette Valdivieso3, Melissa Ochoa-Perez3, Chad Lemaire3, Jodi Berger Cardoso4, Michael J Zvolensky5. 1. Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, TX, United States. Electronic address: agviana@uh.edu. 2. Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, TX, United States. 3. Legacy Community Health Services, Houston, TX, United States. 4. School of Social Work, University of Houston, Houston, TX, United States. 5. Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, TX, United States; The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Department of Behavioral Science, Houston, TX, United States. Electronic address: Mjzvolen@central.uh.edu.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Research has found that Latinos (versus non-Latino Whites) evince higher rates of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTS) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), yet little attention has been given to intra-individual, emotion-related processes to explicate the higher incidence of these symptoms among Latinos. METHOD: Participants included 183 trauma-exposed adult Latinos (88.5% female; Mage=37.7, SD=10.7 and 93.4% reported Spanish as their first language) who attended a community-based primary healthcare clinic in Houston. It was hypothesized that anxiety sensitivity would explain the relation between emotional nonacceptance and traumatic stress symptoms, namely re-experiencing, avoidance, and arousal difficulties as well as overall disability. Additionally, it was expected that the observed effects would be evident above and beyond the variance accounted for by number of traumas reported, gender, age, marital status, educational status, years living in the U.S., and negative affectivity. RESULTS: Consistent with our hypotheses, difficulties accepting negative emotions were associated with increased trauma-related re-experiencing, avoidance, and arousal difficulties. Additionally, anxiety sensitivity was an underlying mechanism in the association between emotional nonacceptance and all but one facet of traumatic stress symptoms (i.e., re-experiencing symptoms) and disability. Alternative models yielded no significant effects, providing greater confidence in the direction of the hypothesized effects. CONCLUSION: Findings are discussed in the context of their significance for informing the development of specialized intervention strategies that target anxiety sensitivity for Latinos in primary care with elevated risk for PTS and PTSD by their heightened levels of emotional nonacceptance.
OBJECTIVE: Research has found that Latinos (versus non-Latino Whites) evince higher rates of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTS) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), yet little attention has been given to intra-individual, emotion-related processes to explicate the higher incidence of these symptoms among Latinos. METHOD:Participants included 183 trauma-exposed adult Latinos (88.5% female; Mage=37.7, SD=10.7 and 93.4% reported Spanish as their first language) who attended a community-based primary healthcare clinic in Houston. It was hypothesized that anxiety sensitivity would explain the relation between emotional nonacceptance and traumatic stress symptoms, namely re-experiencing, avoidance, and arousal difficulties as well as overall disability. Additionally, it was expected that the observed effects would be evident above and beyond the variance accounted for by number of traumas reported, gender, age, marital status, educational status, years living in the U.S., and negative affectivity. RESULTS: Consistent with our hypotheses, difficulties accepting negative emotions were associated with increased trauma-related re-experiencing, avoidance, and arousal difficulties. Additionally, anxiety sensitivity was an underlying mechanism in the association between emotional nonacceptance and all but one facet of traumatic stress symptoms (i.e., re-experiencing symptoms) and disability. Alternative models yielded no significant effects, providing greater confidence in the direction of the hypothesized effects. CONCLUSION: Findings are discussed in the context of their significance for informing the development of specialized intervention strategies that target anxiety sensitivity for Latinos in primary care with elevated risk for PTS and PTSD by their heightened levels of emotional nonacceptance.
Authors: Andres G Viana; Abigail E Hanna; Emma C Woodward; Elizabeth M Raines; Daniel J Paulus; Erin C Berenz; Michael J Zvolensky Journal: Child Psychiatry Hum Dev Date: 2018-02
Authors: Andrew H Rogers; Jafar Bakhshaie; Andres G Viana; Chad Lemaire; Monica Garza; Melissa Ochoa-Perez; Joseph W Ditre; Nubia A Mayorga; Michael J Zvolensky Journal: J Racial Ethn Health Disparities Date: 2018-04-09