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Abstract: Objective: To systematically review outcomes from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of mind–body treatments for PTSD. Methods: Inclusion criteria based on guidelines for assessing risk of bias were used to evaluate articles identified through electronic literature searches. Results: Twenty‐two RCTs met inclusion standards. In most of the nine mindfulness and six yoga studies, significant between‐group effects were found indicating moderate to large effect size advantages for these treatments. In all seven relaxation RCT's, relaxation was used as a control condition and five studies reported significant between‐group differences on relevant PTSD outcomes in favor of the target treatments. However, there were large within‐group symptom improvements in the relaxation condition for the majority of studies. Conclusions: Although many studies are limited by methodologic weaknesses, recent studies have increased rigor and, in aggregate, the results for mindfulness, yoga, and relaxation are promising. Recommendations for design of future mind–body trials are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined fluctuation over time in symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among 34 combat veterans (28 with diagnosed PTSD, 6 with subclinical symptoms) assessed every 2 weeks for up to 2 years (range of assessments = 13-52). Temporal relationships were examined among four PTSD symptom clusters (reexperiencing, avoidance, emotional numbing, and hyperarousal) with particular attention to the influence of hyperarousal. Multilevel cross-lagged random coefficients autoregression for intensive time series data analyses were used to model symptom fluctuation decades after combat experiences. As anticipated, hyperarousal predicted subsequent fluctuations in the 3 other PTSD symptom clusters (reexperiencing, avoidance, emotional numbing) at subsequent 2-week intervals (rs = .45, .36, and .40, respectively). Additionally, emotional numbing influenced later reexperiencing and avoidance, and reexperiencing influenced later hyperarousal (rs = .44, .40, and .34, respectively). These findings underscore the important influence of hyperarousal. Furthermore, results indicate a bidirectional relationship between hyperarousal and reexperiencing as well as a possible chaining of symptoms (hyperarousal → emotional numbing → reexperiencing → hyperarousal) and establish potential internal, intrapersonal mechanisms for the maintenance of persistent PTSD symptoms. Results suggested that clinical interventions targeting hyperarousal and emotional numbing symptoms may hold promise for PTSD of long duration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective This study explored possible mechanisms through which symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were reduced in a randomized controlled trial comparing the effect of a yoga intervention with an assessment control. Method We examined whether changes in psychological flexibility, mindfulness, and emotion regulation strategies (expressive suppression and reappraisal) were associated with posttreatment PTSD symptoms for 38 women with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition full or subthreshold PTSD. Results Hierarchical linear regression models revealed that expressive suppression significantly decreased for the yoga group relative to the assessment control. Psychological flexibility increased significantly for the control but not yoga group. However, increases in psychological flexibility were associated with decreases in PTSD symptoms for the yoga but not control group. Conclusion Preliminary findings suggest that yoga may reduce expressive suppression and may improve PTSD symptoms by increasing psychological flexibility. More research is needed to replicate and extend these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Objective The goal of this study was to explore sleep quality as a potential mediator between depression symptoms and diabetes quality of life (DQOL), and anxiety symptoms and DQOL. Method Participants were 83 male and 3 female veterans with type 2 diabetes ( Mage = 62.4). Self-report measures were completed during the baseline assessment of a larger intervention study conducted at the VA Boston Healthcare System. Results Depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and sleep quality were all associated with DQOL. Additionally, sleep quality had a partial indirect effect on the relationships between depression symptoms and DQOL, and between anxiety symptoms and DQOL. Conclusions These findings suggest that sleep quality may have an important role in the way that psychological distress affects diabetes quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research has revealed heightened aggressive behavior among veterans with PTSD. This study tested a model examining the interrelationships among combat exposure, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, dysphoric symptoms, and anxiety symptoms in predicting aggressive behavior in a sample of 265 male combat veterans seeking diagnostic assessment of PTSD. Combat exposure was indirectly associated with aggression primarily through its relationship with PTSD symptoms. Symptoms of PTSD were directly related to aggression, and indirectly related to aggression through dysphoric symptoms. Results highlight the role of PTSD symptoms and dysphoric symptoms with respect to aggressive behavior among this population, and suggest the relevance of aggression theory to the study of combat veterans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]