The impact of ecological momentary assessment on posttraumatic stress symptom trajectory.

Ecological momentary assessment includes continuous, real-time gathering of self-report data in a participant's natural environment. The current study evaluated the possible impact of this assessment strategy on severity of posttraumatic stress (PTS) in a sample of participants who reported experiencing a past traumatic event. Participants with clinically elevated PTS symptoms reported symptom severity at three time-points: during an initial screening, following an unmonitored period, and following two weeks of monitoring. During the monitoring period, participants carried an Android device which prompted them to report PTS symptoms and negative emotions six times daily. PTS severity scores were then compared across these three time-points. Results indicated that participating in the ecological momentary assessment protocol was associated with a significant reduction in PTS severity, whereas significant changes were not noted over the unmonitored control condition. The authors conclude that ecological momentary assessment may have therapeutic value even when not combined with formal intervention, and it may be a useful tool for improving the efficiency of a stepped-care approach to treating PTS symptoms.

Daddy's little girl goes to college: an investigation of females' perceived closeness with fathers and later risky behaviors.

OBJECTIVE: The present study investigated the extent to which father-daughter relationships predicted risk-taking in a sample of female college students. Specifically, this study examined whether female adolescents' models of father psychological presence predicted substance use and sexual risk-taking, over and above impulsivity, depression, and other risky behaviors. METHODS: A sample of 203 female college students were administered several scales assessing father psychological presence, sexual risk-taking, substance use, impulsivity, and depression. RESULTS: Father psychological presence did predict sexual risk-taking and illicit drug use (but not alcohol use) after controlling for impulsivity, other risky behavior, and mood. Further, when grouped into low and high levels of psychological presence, those in the low group were more likely to engage in a variety of risky behaviors than those who perceived high psychological presence. CONCLUSION: Consistent with evolutionary perspectives, paternal psychological presence may function as protection against risky behavior.

Measuring trauma: considerations for assessing complex and non-PTSD Criterion A childhood trauma.

The current definition of a traumatic event in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013) may be too narrow to describe the myriad of difficult childhood experiences. Furthermore, youth may develop a distinct pattern of symptoms in relation to complex or multiple childhood trauma experiences, the proposed developmental trauma disorder (DTD; B. A. van der Kolk, 2005 ) We developed and utilized a new measure, the Potentially Traumatic Experiences Questionnaire (PTEQ), to assess patterns in childhood trauma exposure. We used 2 item formats (open ended vs. closed ended) in order to explore potential differences in reporting. Furthermore, we assessed for symptoms associated with DTD following exposure to complex childhood trauma in a sample of adolescents. Participants were 186 adolescents ages 18 and 19 years old who were asked to report retrospectively on their difficult childhood experiences. The results showed that participants reported multiple events that would not be considered traumatic according to DSM-5 Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Criterion A, and those who completed the PTEQ with closed-ended items reported more differentiated trauma types than participants who completed the open-ended questionnaire. Also, participants who reported multiple or chronic events were more likely to endorse symptoms associated with DTD. This study has implications for the diagnosis and treatment of complex trauma experiences in youth.