Citation

Bapolisi AM, Maurage P, Georges CMG, Petit G, Balola M, Cikomola CJ, Rimé B, Philippot P, Persu A, de Timary P. Psychosom. Med. 2023; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, American Psychosomatic Society, Publisher Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/PSY.0000000000001225

PMID

37363996

Abstract

BACKGROUND: While the link between trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and hypertension is established, its underlying mechanisms remain underexplored.

OBJECTIVE: This study tested a theoretical model exploring the moderating influence of psychological (emotion regulation) and interpersonal (social support) factors on the mediation between trauma and hypertension, through PTSD.

METHODS: We measured these variables through self-reported questionnaire on 212 patients, recruited from internal medicine in a general hospital of Bukavu, a region affected by over 25 years of armed conflicts. We first evaluated the PTSD mediation in the absence of moderators, before testing each moderator using moderated path analysis.

RESULTS: Results showed that PTSD partially mediates the relationship between human-made trauma and hypertension, while social support and maladaptive emotion regulation moderate the relationship between human-made trauma and PTSD.

CONCLUSION: The relationship between human-made trauma, PTSD and hypertension might be modulated by psychological and interpersonal factors, which paves the way for new interventions targeting emotion regulation and social support to reduce PTSD and hypertension in populations exposed to human-made violence.

Language: en