Citation

Nickerson A, Steenkamp MM, Aerka IM, Salters-Pedneault K, Carper TL, Barnes JB, Litz BT. Depress. Anxiety 2013; 30(5): 444-450.

Affiliation

School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiological Research and Information Center, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/da.22023

PMID

23165889

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Comorbidity in psychological disorders is common following exposure to a traumatic event. Relatively little is known about the manner in which changes in the symptoms of a given type of psychological disorder in the acute period following a trauma impact changes in symptoms of another disorder. This study investigated the relationship between changes in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety symptoms in the first 12 weeks following sexual assault. METHODS: Participants were 126 women who had been sexually assaulted in the previous 4 weeks. RESULTS: Lower level mediation analyses revealed that changes in PTSD symptoms had a greater impact on changes in depression and anxiety than vice versa. CONCLUSIONS: The finding highlights the role of PTSD symptoms in influencing subsequent change in other psychological symptoms. These findings are discussed in the context of models detailing the trajectory of psychological disorders following trauma, and clinical implications are considered.

Language: en