BACKGROUND Several psychological sequelae have been identified in civilian war survivors. However, little is known about the prevalence of obsessive-compulsive symptoms and their relationship to trauma in this population. METHOD Fifty-one adult civilian survivors of the Kosovo War (28 males) who had immigrated to Switzerland completed the Revised Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory Scale, the Post...

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES Post-traumatic stress disorder is a common psychological maladaptation among adolescents after undergoing an earthquake. Knowledge about the prevalence and maintenance of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and the changes of its predictors over time can help medical providers assist adolescent survivors with mitigating long-term impacts. This study examined the change...

BACKGROUND Posttraumatic stress disorder is a prevalent and disabling psychologic pathology. Longitudinal research on the predictors of posttraumatic stress symptomatology is limited. METHODS We recruited 2752 participants to a prospective, population-based cohort study by conducting a telephone survey of adult residents of the New York City metropolitan area in 2002; participants completed 3...

Title of Document: AMBIGUOUS LOSS, NUMBER OF FOSTER CARE PLACEMENTS, CHILD AGE AND CHILD SEX AS PREDICTORS OF THE BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS AND POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS SYMPTOMS OF CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE. Lisa JoAnn Benson, Master of Science, 2006 Directed By: Associate Professor Jacqueline Wallen, Department of Family Studies This study examined four factors that may predict the behavior problems and pos...

The high comorbidity rates of posttraumatic stress disorder and chronic pain have been widely reported, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Emerging evidence suggested that an excess of inflammatory immune activities in the hippocampus involved in the progression of both posttraumatic stress disorder and chronic pain. Considering that microglia are substrates underlying the initiation...

BACKGROUND Exposure to intense physical and psychological stress during septic shock can result in posttraumatic stress disorder in survivors. Patients with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder often show sustained reductions in serum cortisol concentration. This investigation examines whether increasing serum cortisol levels with hydrocortisone treatment during septic shock reduces the incide...

OBJECTIVE Individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) exhibit heightened amygdala reactivity and atypical activation patterns in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in response to negative emotional information. It is unknown whether these aspects of neural function are risk factors for PTSD or consequences of either trauma exposure or onset of the disorder. We had a unique opportunit...

A previous study of Hurricane Katrina survivors found that higher levels of predisaster social support were associated with lower psychological distress one year after the storm, and that this pathway was mediated by lower exposure to hurricane-related stressors. As a follow-up, we examined the impact of pre- and postdisaster social support on longer-term of mental health-both psychological dis...

OBJECTIVE To review the literature on neurobiological findings related to hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysfunctions associated with posttraumatic stress disorder. METHOD The relevant scientific findings were described according to the date of publication and the characteristics of the studies: preclinical studies, studies on early life violence as a risk factor, and clinical findings r...