Racial differences in posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms among African American and Caucasian male veterans.

OBJECTIVE: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the most prevalent mental health diagnoses for veterans. Previous research as well as the minority stress model and transgenerational trauma theories, suggest that race may be associated with PTSD, particularly in veterans. The current study examined whether there were racial differences in symptomology in a sample of combat veterans with PTSD (global and symptom cluster-specific). METHODS: Data were collected from male veterans who identified as non-Hispanic Caucasian or non-Hispanic African American (N = 413). Participants completed the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist- Military version (PCL-M). The PCL-M items were split into four symptom clusters to align with the DSM-5: Re-experiencing, Avoidance, Numbing, and Hyperarousal. It was hypothesized that African American veterans would report more severe global PTSD symptoms and higher levels of hypervigilance. RESULTS: Findings indicated global PTSD symptoms and three of the four symptom clusters did not differ, although the symptom cluster of Re-experiencing was found to be higher for African Americans compared to Caucasians. CONCLUSIONS: It may be helpful for researchers to broaden their methods of assessing PTSD symptomology, such as to examine specific PTSD symptom clusters, especially when assessing differences by race.

Benefits, challenges, and needs of people living with cancer and their companion dogs: An exploratory study.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: The study examined whether the bond with a companion dog is associated with well-being among people with cancer, and described the perceived benefits, challenges, and needs accompanying the relationship with the dog. DESIGN: The design was cross-sectional. SAMPLE: Participants were 140 people recently diagnosed with cancer with at least one dog in their household. METHODS: The online survey included measures of the human-pet bond, depressive symptoms, positive affect, and health-related quality of life, as well as open-ended questions about the experience of having a dog since being diagnosed with cancer. FINDINGS: Although the bond with a companion dog was not directly linked with well-being, the association between the human-pet bond and depressive symptoms depended in part on treatment status. CONCLUSIONS: Companion dogs may play an important role in the lives of people recently diagnosed with cancer. Implications for psychosocial providers: Health care providers can help to support the bond with a companion dog.

Examination of Racial Differences in a Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Group Therapy Program for Veterans.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the most prevalent mental health diagnoses for veterans. Group therapy can be an effective and efficient means of treating PTSD, yet the literature exploring treatment outcomes for racial minorities is mixed and limited. The present study was an evaluation across racial groups of the PTSD Recovery Program, a manualized group therapy implemented at a Veterans Affairs hospital. Data were collected from male veterans (N = 450) who identified as non-Hispanic White or non-Hispanic African American and participated in a 10-week, combat-related, group therapy program between 2010 and 2014. Participants completed the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Military version (PCL-M) measure at pre-treatment and post-treatment. The Program led to a statistically significant reduction in PCL-M scores (Cohen's d = .64). Symptom reduction occurred regardless of race, with no racial differences in improvement. Racial and ethnic composition of groups was not related to outcomes. The Program was effective regardless of veteran group or provider. Results imply that the PTSD Recovery Program is an effective first-line option to treating non-Hispanic White and non-Hispanic African American veterans with PTSD. Future research should continue to explore the associations between group characteristics and treatment outcomes.

Disability and assistance dog implicit association test: a novel IAT.

OBJECTIVE: Individuals with disabilities often face stigma and negative social interactions. Human-animal interaction literature suggests that an individual paired with an animal will be perceived differently than an individual alone. Although people with disabilities report increases in social interactions when with assistance dogs, the reasons for this remain unclear. One possibility is that attitudes toward people with disabilities are altered by the presence of assistance dogs, thus affecting the social behaviors of the perceiver. This study examines whether implicit attitudes toward individuals with disabilities differ in the presence of an assistance dog. METHOD: College students (N = 244) completed the Attitudes of Adults to Dogs scale, an item assessing dog ownership, and the Disabilities and Assistance Dog Implicit Association Test (IAT). RESULTS: A 1-sample t test demonstrated a significant IAT effect, t(240) = 3.62, p < .001, with a positive implicit bias observed toward an individual with a disability when paired with an assistance dog over the individual alone. White individuals were more likely than Black individuals to hold positive implicit attitudes toward an individual with a disability paired with a dog, F(2, 238) = 3.18, p = .04. There were no significant differences in IAT D scores based on gender or dog ownership. IMPLICATIONS: This study extends previous research regarding social interactions for individuals with disabilities who are paired with assistance dogs. Increases in positive implicit attitudes toward an individual with a disability paired with a dog may explain these changes in social interactions. Dogs may serve as a social lubricant, increasing positive social interactions for individuals with disabilities.

Parenting a child with autism: contextual factors associated with enhanced daily parental mood.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the extent to which social support, unsupportive interactions, support services, and disruptive child behaviors predict daily positive and negative mood in parents of children with autism. METHODS: Ninety-three parents of children with autism completed initial measures of disruptive child behaviors, and support services, then biweekly measures of daily stress, received emotional and instrumental social support, unsupportive social interactions, and mood over 3 months. RESULTS: Greater levels of daily positive mood were associated with more emotional and instrumental support, and less parenting stress and unsupportive interactions. Greater daily negative mood was associated with less emotional support and more parenting stress, unsupportive interactions, and disruptive child behaviors. Emotional support, unsupportive interactions, and disruptive child behaviors moderated the stress-mood relationship. CONCLUSIONS: Daily received social support and unsupportive interactions, and disruptive child behaviors are important predictors of daily mood. Identifying interpersonal processes that enhance psychological well-being may inform future parenting interventions.

Daily stress, coping, and well-being in parents of children with autism: a multilevel modeling approach.

This study used a repeated daily measurement design to examine the direct and moderating effects of coping on daily psychological distress and well-being in parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Twice weekly over a 12-week period, 93 parents provided reports of their daily stress, coping responses, and end-of-day mood. Multilevel modeling analyses identified 5 coping responses (e.g., seeking support, positive reframing) that predicted increased daily positive mood and 4 (e.g., escape, withdrawal) that were associated with decreased positive mood. Similarly, 2 coping responses were associated with decreased daily negative mood and 5 predicted increased negative mood. The moderating effects of gender and the 11 coping responses were also examined. Gender did not moderate the daily coping?mood relationship, however 3 coping responses (emotional regulation, social support, and worrying) were found to moderate the daily stress?mood relationship. Additionally, ASD symptomatology, and time since an ASD diagnosis were not found to predict daily parental mood. This study is perhaps the first to identify coping responses that enhance daily well-being and mitigate daily distress in parents of children with ASD.

Identifying supportive and unsupportive responses of others: perspectives of African American and Caucasian cancer patients.

This study uses focus group methodology to examine supportive and unsupportive responses experienced by African American and Caucasian cancer patients. Supportive responses included practical assistance, as well as people's willingness to listen, maintain a positive attitude, and pray. Unsupportive responses included others' withdrawal behaviors, patients having to support friends/family as they coped, and family/friends limiting patients' independence. Results reflect ways in which mental health providers, social workers, and health care providers can help patients express support needs, as well as how social networks can be better educated about the types of support valued by patients.

The role of disclosure patterns and unsupportive social interactions in the well-being of breast cancer patients.

The purpose of this study was to examine the nature and potential effects of disclosure patterns and unsupportive social interactions in breast cancer patients. Disclosure, the thoughts and feelings people communicate to others, and unsupportive social interactions, the upsetting or unsupportive responses people receive from others, have been infrequently studied in breast cancer patients. Sixty-six early stage breast cancer patients diagnosed less than one year completed a written questionnaire. Results indicated that the women reported confiding in family and friends more than in mental health workers. Fears of recurrence and worries about the effects of the illness on family members were the most important concerns, whereas concerns about body image were the least troublesome. Failure to disclose concerns was associated with low social support, high unsupportive social interactions, and low emotional well-being. Most of the unsupportive responses received from other people were either behaviors of minimizing or distancing. Unsupportive reactions were significantly associated with greater role limitations due to emotional problems and decreased social functioning. Implications for interventions and future research are discussed.

Longitudinal analyses of the relationship between unsupportive social interactions and psychological adjustment among women with fertility problems.

This study examined the association of unsupportive social interactions and psychological adjustment among 123 women with fertility problems, and tested whether threat appraisals and avoidance coping mediate this association. Cross-sectional analyses suggested that infertility-specific unsupportive responses received from other people were associated positively with adjustment problems. Avoidance coping and threat appraisals mediated this association between unsupportive social interactions and adjustment. Longitudinal analyses with 67 of these women revealed that after controlling for Time 1 adjustment, Time 1 unsupportive social interactions were associated positively with depressive symptoms and overall psychological distress only for women who remained infertile at Time 2, compared with women who were pregnant or had given birth. Associations between Time 1 unsupportive social interactions and self-esteem at Time 2 were similar for both groups of women.