ABSTRACT
Considerable debate exists regarding the possible relationship between child abuse and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In this study, 3 groups of foster care children were compared. The groups included 50 sexually abused, 50 physically abused, and 50 nonabused foster care children. Participants completed the Child Post-Traumatic Stress Reaction Index, the Childhood PTSD Interview, and the Modified Stroop Procedure (MSP), which included sexual abuse and nonsexual abuse stimuli. The MSP has not been previously used in child abuse research. Results indicated that sexually and physically abused children demonstrated PTSD at a high level. The MSP discriminated between the sexually abused children with PTSD and those without PTSD. Responses to the MSP sexual abuse stimuli resulted in significantly longer color-naming times than responses to nonsexual abuse stimuli. Preadolescents demonstrated more severe PTSD than early adolescent children.
Subject(s)
Child Abuse/psychology , Foster Home Care/psychology , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/etiology , Adolescent , Adult , Case-Control Studies , Chi-Square Distribution , Child , Child Abuse, Sexual/psychology , Female , Humans , Male , Psychological Tests , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/psychologyABSTRACT
Many measures exist to evaluate posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but there are few ways of assessing secondary traumatic stress disorder and these are limited to specific populations. Secondary traumatic stress disorder involves the transfer of trauma symptoms from those who have been traumatized to those who have close and extended contact with trauma victims. Thus, family members of those who have been traumatized and therapists who treat trauma survivors are vulnerable to developing secondary traumatic stress disorder. In this initial evaluation of the newly developed Secondary Trauma Questionnaire, 261 mental health professionals and 157 college students were evaluated. Analysis indicated that the questionnaire showed good internal consistency and was significantly correlated with known measures of trauma. The Secondary Trauma Questionnaire is presented as a promising way to measure secondary trauma symptoms and further research using this questionnaire appears to be warranted.
Subject(s)
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/diagnosis , Surveys and Questionnaires , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Reproducibility of Results , Time FactorsABSTRACT
This preliminary study investigated the effectiveness of anxiety management training (AMT), a coping skills treatment similar to systematic desensitization, in comparison to implosive therapy (IT), an exposure-based treatment, for treating six Vietnam combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Clinician Administered PTSD Interview Scale (CAPS; Blake et al. (1988), The Behaviour Therapist, 18, 187-188) and a self-monitoring measure (Weathers et al., 1991) were used as dependent measures. A single-subject, multiple-baseline, crossover design (ABC/ACB) was employed. A new statistic for such designs (Mueser et al. (1991), Behaviour Modification, 15, 134-155), based on classical test theory, was used to assess treatment effects on intrusive war memories and avoidance of stimuli reminiscent of war. Within-subject results indicated that AMT and IT were similarly effective in reducing the frequency and intensity of intrusions and avoidance. This preliminary report therefore suggests that it may be productive to investigate multidimensional approaches (combining coping skills, exposure-based, and other approaches) to the treatment of combat-related PTSD as Foa et al. (1991), Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 59, 715-723 and Nishith et al. (1995), Behaviour Therapy, 26, 319-335 have for rape-related PTSD.
Subject(s)
Behavior Therapy/methods , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/therapy , Adaptation, Psychological , Cross-Over Studies , Humans , Implosive Therapy , Male , Pilot Projects , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/psychology , Treatment Outcome , Veterans/psychologyABSTRACT
Intergenerational transmission of war experiences was assessed using a modified Stroop task. Adult children of war veterans and those of nonveterans named the colors in which war related words were printed. They also named the colors of neutral, positive, and OCD related words in addition to color naming a series of zeros contained on a control card. All participants completed the MMPI-II PTSD Scale, the Impact of Event Scale, and a demographic questionnaire. A statistically significant difference between the children of veterans and nonveterans was found only on the Stroop card containing war related words. Results suggest that the modified Stroop task is a sensitive measure that may have value in assessing transmission of war experiences from parents to children.
Subject(s)
Parent-Child Relations , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/psychology , Veterans/psychology , Adolescent , Adult , Color Perception , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Neuropsychological Tests/standards , Reproducibility of Results , WarfareABSTRACT
This study empirically investigated the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and combat level on Vietnam veterans' perceptions of their children's behavior, as well as its effects on their marital adjustment. Results indicated that the predictor variables of PTSD and combat level together explained 33.6% of the variance in perceived child behavior problems (p < .001) and 51.8% of the variance in marital adjustment (p < .001). In addition, PTSD and combat level, when observed together, reliably predicted internalizing and externalizing behavior problems in addition to four specific areas of marital adjustment. When observed individually, however, it was shown that child behavior problems and marital adjustment were predicted primarily by PTSD, rather than combat level.
Subject(s)
Attitude , Child Behavior Disorders/psychology , Child Behavior , Combat Disorders/psychology , Marriage/psychology , Veterans/psychology , Adaptation, Psychological , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Child , Child Behavior Disorders/diagnosis , Child, Preschool , Combat Disorders/diagnosis , Female , Humans , Individuality , Male , Marital Therapy , Middle Aged , Parenting/psychology , Personality InventoryABSTRACT
The effects of contingent positive and negative reinforcement on adaptive behavior and mood were examined in a sample of 36 chronic, psychiatric outpatients. Group 1 received contingent positive token reinforcement to improve daily living skills, group 2 received a negative reinforcement procedure based on removal of free-tokens, and group 3 was a no-treatment control. Subjects were assessed via a weekly daily living checklist and were pre- and posttested on the Profile of Mood States (POMS). Significant differences were found between the control and treatment groups on both total activities of daily living and among five individual targeted behaviors. Mood states did not differ among the groups, which indicates benign effects of negative reinforcement. The findings of this study are relevant to the treatment of the serious and persistently mentally ill.
Subject(s)
Activities of Daily Living , Mental Disorders/therapy , Reinforcement, Psychology , Residential Facilities , Token Economy , Adult , Aged , Behavior Therapy , Chronic Disease , Community Mental Health Services , Deinstitutionalization , Female , Humans , Male , Mental Disorders/diagnosis , Mental Disorders/psychology , Middle Aged , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
There are a wide range of psychotherapeutic treatments for Vietnam-related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. This paper reviews some of the more commonly used interventions which are the behavioral, psychodynamic, family, and group therapies. Commonalities among these diverse treatments are shown to involve reconfronting trauma stimuli and the attempt to reintegrate traumatic experiences into ongoing personality functioning. It is shown that there are virtually no methodologically sound, empirically based studies that compare two or more treatments within a given study. Experimentally controlled, comparative studies are needed to advance our knowledge of effective treatments of this disorder.
Subject(s)
Combat Disorders/therapy , Psychotherapy/methods , Veterans/psychology , Combat Disorders/psychology , Humans , Male , Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care , VietnamABSTRACT
This study examined the validity of PTSD by comparing the dysfunctional cognitions found in a PTSD group, a clinical group (anxiety or depression), and a nonclinical group. Subjects completed the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-II, the Impact of Event Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Cognitive Error Questionnaire, and the Survey of Personal Beliefs. Results revealed that PTSD and clinical groups were significantly more depressed and anxious than nonclinical subjects. Unlike the PTSD group, only the clinical group endorsed more dysfunctional cognitions than the nonclinical group, which supports the uniqueness of the PTSD group as differing cognitively from clinical groups.
Subject(s)
Anxiety Disorders/psychology , Cognition Disorders/psychology , Combat Disorders/psychology , Depressive Disorder/psychology , Veterans/psychology , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Anxiety Disorders/diagnosis , Cognition Disorders/diagnosis , Combat Disorders/diagnosis , Defense Mechanisms , Depressive Disorder/diagnosis , Diagnosis, Differential , Female , Humans , Internal-External Control , Male , Middle Aged , Personality Inventory , Psychiatric Status Rating ScalesABSTRACT
The effects of aerobic and nonaerobic exercise on depression and self-concept were investigated in a pretest-posttest control group design. 89 undergraduates engaged in the aerobic exercise of swimming, the nonaerobic exercise of weight training, or a control, Introductory Psychology class. Dependent measures were the Beck Depression Inventory, Depression Adjective Check Lists, Tennessee Self-concept Scale, and Cooper's 12 Minute Swim. Analysis indicated that both the aerobic and nonaerobic groups were equally effective in significantly reducing self-reported depression in comparison to the controls. The nonaerobic condition was superior to the aerobic condition for enhancing self-concept. These results contradict earlier findings suggesting that only aerobic types of exercise yield psychological benefit but are consistent with more recent findings showing the psychological benefit of nonaerobic exercise.
Subject(s)
Depression/psychology , Exercise , Physical Fitness , Self Concept , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Swimming , Weight LiftingABSTRACT
This study examined the relative influence on children's self-esteem of academic achievement, maternal self-esteem, maternal acceptance, and children's perception of their parents' acceptance of them. Subjects were students with learning disabilities in a self-contained class (n=31), similarly diagnosed students in resource room (n=35), students in compensatory education (n=30), and nondisabled students (n=30) from Grades 3 through 6. Results showed that for the self-contained group, a child's perception of maternal and paternal acceptance plus the child's academic achievement score accounted for 58% of the variance in the child's self-esteem. None of the independent variables accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in the compensatory education and regular class groups. The self-esteem of the regular class students was significantly higher than that of the resource room students and the compensatory education students, but not significantly higher than that of the self-contained students.
Subject(s)
Achievement , Education, Special , Learning Disabilities/psychology , Parent-Child Relations , Personality Development , Self Concept , Child , HumansABSTRACT
Characteristics of 107 Vietnam veterans with and without Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), who had been exposed to varying levels of combat, were compared. Severity of psychopathology as assessed on the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, locus of control orientation as measured by the Nowicki-Strickland Internal-External Control Scale, and ability to have provided structure and meaning to the Vietnam experience were examined. Compared to veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, those without the disorder had lower Neuroticism and Psychoticism scores, were more internal in their locus of control orientation, and were more likely to have shown ability to provide structure to the Vietnam experience. The additional finding that veterans with high combat experience but without PTSD evidenced less neuroticism than low combat veterans without PTSD provides evidence that those who did not develop the disorder despite high exposure to combat stress are individuals with exceptional emotional strength and resilience.
Subject(s)
Combat Disorders/psychology , Personality Tests , Veterans/psychology , Adult , Combat Disorders/diagnosis , Humans , Male , Psychometrics , VietnamABSTRACT
We investigated the self-concepts of Tourette Syndrome patients and their mothers. The subjects were 30 children with Tourette Syndrome and their mothers, and 30 children matched on age, sex, and socioeconomic status and their mothers. The results indicated that, while the children did not differ on self-concept, the mothers of the Tourette Syndrome patients had lower self-concepts than the mothers of the controls, suggesting that family members should be considered in the treatment of the Tourette Syndrome children. In addition, severity of illness was positively correlated with the children's reports of behavior disturbance and dysphoric mood, although not with over-all self-concept. These results indicate that in more severe cases of Tourette Syndrome, children may experience emotional problems requiring therapeutic intervention.
Subject(s)
Mother-Child Relations , Mothers/psychology , Personality Development , Self Concept , Tourette Syndrome/psychology , Adolescent , Child , Female , Humans , Male , Personality TestsABSTRACT
We investigated the predictive value of family reaction and illness severity with respect to the emotional adjustment of Tourette's syndrome patients. The subjects included 30 children with Tourette's syndrome and 30 control subjects matched on age, sex, race, and socioeconomic status. The predictor variables included the child's perception of parental behavior, family adaptability as perceived by the mother, mother's self-concept, and illness severity. The results indicated that the children's perceptions of their parents' behavior explained the most variance in children's self-concepts and anxiety for both groups. These findings highlight the importance of the parent-child interaction in predicting the child's emotional adjustment to Tourette's syndrome.
Subject(s)
Adaptation, Psychological , Self Concept , Sick Role , Tourette Syndrome/psychology , Adolescent , Child , Family , Female , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
A therapist's expertness, trustworthiness, empathy, and attractiveness were evaluated by 300 subjects after viewing a 5-min. videotape of a therapist-client interaction. Therapist's level of self-disclosure and formality were the independent variables. Ratings of trustworthiness were highest when the therapist was informal. Therapist's high disclosure of depression yielded decreased ratings of attractiveness, empathy, and expertness in comparison with no disclosure by the therapist.
Subject(s)
Professional-Patient Relations , Psychotherapy , Self Disclosure , Adult , Empathy , Female , Humans , Male , Middle AgedABSTRACT
Black and white students (N = 186) in the 10th through 12th grades were given measures of alienation and social adjustment. Third-order partial correlations were computed. Alienation scores correlated negatively with grade point averages and positively with some measures of behavioral maladjustment. There were negative correlations between alienation scores and social involvement. Alienation scores appeared to have a more uniform and pervasive negative influence on black students than on white students.
