1. PROSPECTIVE INVESTIGATION OF MENTAL HEALTH FOLLOWING SEXUAL ASSAULT
- Author
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Idan M. Aerka, Brett T. Litz, Maria M. Steenkamp, Kristalyn Salters-Pedneault, Angela Nickerson, J. Ben Barnes, and Teresa L. Carper
- Subjects
medicine.medical_specialty ,Traumatic stress ,Poison control ,Context (language use) ,medicine.disease ,Mental health ,Suicide prevention ,Comorbidity ,Psychiatry and Mental health ,Clinical Psychology ,medicine ,Anxiety ,sense organs ,medicine.symptom ,skin and connective tissue diseases ,Psychiatry ,Psychology ,Depression (differential diagnoses) ,Clinical psychology - Abstract
BACKGROUND: Comorbidity in psychological disorders is common following exposure to a traumatic event. Relatively little is known about the manner in which changes in the symptoms of a given type of psychological disorder in the acute period following a trauma impact changes in symptoms of another disorder. This study investigated the relationship between changes in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety symptoms in the first 12 weeks following sexual assault. METHODS: Participants were 126 women who had been sexually assaulted in the previous 4 weeks. RESULTS: Lower level mediation analyses revealed that changes in PTSD symptoms had a greater impact on changes in depression and anxiety than vice versa. CONCLUSIONS: The finding highlights the role of PTSD symptoms in influencing subsequent change in other psychological symptoms. These findings are discussed in the context of models detailing the trajectory of psychological disorders following trauma, and clinical implications are considered. Language: en
- Published
- 2012
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