1
|
Morin EL, Howell BR, Meyer JS, Sanchez MM. Effects of early maternal care on adolescent attention bias to threat in nonhuman primates. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2019; 38:100643. [PMID: 31170549 PMCID: PMC6969349 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2019.100643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2018] [Revised: 03/28/2019] [Accepted: 04/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Attention bias towards threat using dot-probe tasks has mainly been reported in adults with stress-related disorders such as PTSD and other anxiety disorders, in some cases associated with early life stress or traumatic experiences. Studies during adolescence are scarce and inconsistent, which highlights the need to increase our understanding of the developmental processes that predict attentional biases, given that this is a time of emergence of psychopathology. Here, we use a translational nonhuman primate model of early life stress in the form of infant maltreatment to examine its long-term impact on attentional biases during adolescence using the dot-probe task and identify interactions with early life risk factors, such as prenatal exposure to stress hormones and emotional/stress reactivity during infancy. Maltreated animals showed higher reaction times to social threat than animals that experienced competent maternal care, suggesting interference of negative valence stimuli on attentional control and cognitive processes. Higher emotional reactivity during infancy in Maltreated animals predicted attention bias towards threat, whereas higher levels of prenatal cortisol exposure was associated with bias away (avoidance of) threat in maltreated and control groups. Our findings suggest that different postnatal experiences and early biobehavioral mechanisms regulate the development of emotional attention biases during adolescence.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elyse L Morin
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center, 954 Gatewood Road NE, Atlanta GA, 30329, United States; Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, 201 Dowman Drive, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States.
| | - Brittany R Howell
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center, 954 Gatewood Road NE, Atlanta GA, 30329, United States; Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, 201 Dowman Drive, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States; Insititute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, 51 E River Rd, Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States.
| | - Jerrold S Meyer
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts, 441 Tobin Hall, Amherst, MA 01003, United States.
| | - Mar M Sanchez
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center, 954 Gatewood Road NE, Atlanta GA, 30329, United States; Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, 201 Dowman Drive, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Gladwin TE, Vink M. Freeze or Forget? Virtual Attack Effects in an Emotional Sternberg Task. EUROPES JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2018; 14:342-358. [PMID: 30008950 PMCID: PMC6016026 DOI: 10.5964/ejop.v14i2.1473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2017] [Accepted: 12/16/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Emotionally salient stimuli have the ability to disrupt cognitive processing. This kind of disruption involves effects on working memory and may be related to mental health problems. To explore the nature of such emotional interference on working memory, a Virtual Attack Emotional Sternberg Task (VAEST) was used. Neutral faces were presented as distractors and warning signals, which were sometimes followed by a virtual attack, created by having the neutral face turn angry while the image was enlarged. The attack was hypothesized to have one of two effects: to disrupt cognitive processing and thereby increase interference effects, or to terminate a state of freezing and thereby reduce interference effects. The task was successfully completed online by a sample of 59 students. Results clearly show that the virtual attack caused a reduction of interference relative to no-attack trials. The apparent cognitive disruption caused by emotional distractors may thus reflect freezing, which can be reversed by a freeze-terminating stimulus.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Edward Gladwin
- Department of Psychology and Counseling, University of Chichester, Chichester, United Kingdom
| | - Matthijs Vink
- Department of Psychiatry, Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, Utrecht University Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands.,Departments of Developmental and Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Swick D, Ashley V. Enhanced Attentional Bias Variability in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and its Relationship to More General Impairments in Cognitive Control. Sci Rep 2017; 7:14559. [PMID: 29109521 PMCID: PMC5673957 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-15226-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2017] [Accepted: 10/23/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Hypervigilance towards threat is one of the defining features of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This symptom predicts that individuals with PTSD will be biased to attend to potential dangers in the environment. However, cognitive tasks designed to assess visual-spatial attentional biases have shown mixed results. A newer proposal suggests that attentional bias is not a static phenomenon, but rather is characterized by fluctuations towards and away from threat. Here, we tested 28 combat Veterans with PTSD and 28 control Veterans on a dot probe task with negative-neutral word pairs. Combat-related words and generically negative words were presented in separate blocks. Replicating previous results, neither group showed a bias to attend towards or away from threat, but PTSD patients showed greater attentional bias variability (ABV), which correlated with symptom severity. However, the cognitive processes indexed by ABV are unclear. The present results indicated that ABV was strongly correlated with standard deviation at the reaction time (RT) level and with excessively long RTs (ex-Gaussian tau) related to cognitive failures. These findings suggest an overall increase in response variability unrelated to threat-related biases in spatial attention, and support a disruption in more general cognitive control processes in PTSD.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Diane Swick
- VA Northern California Health Care System, Martinez, CA, USA.
- University of California, Davis, USA.
| | - Victoria Ashley
- VA Northern California Health Care System, Martinez, CA, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Cernvall M, Hovén E, Ljungman L, Ljungman G, Carlbring P, von Essen L. Posttraumatic Stress and Attentional Bias towards Cancer-Related Stimuli in Parents of Children Recently Diagnosed with Cancer. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0152778. [PMID: 27035912 PMCID: PMC4817976 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0152778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2015] [Accepted: 03/19/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To investigate whether posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) are related to attentional bias towards cancer-related stimuli among parents of children recently diagnosed with cancer. METHODS Sixty-two parents completed questionnaires measuring PTSS, depression, and anxiety and the emotional Stroop task via the Internet. The emotional Stroop task included cancer-related words, cardiovascular disease-related words, and neutral words. RESULTS Participants were split in two groups based on the median of PTSS: High-PTSS and Low-PTSS. There was a significant interaction between word-type and group and a planned contrast test of this interaction indicated that the High-PTSS group had longer response latencies on cancer-related words compared to the other word-type and group combinations. CONCLUSIONS Findings suggest that PTSS are related to attentional bias towards cancer-related stimuli among parents of children recently diagnosed with cancer. Implications of this finding for the understanding of PTSS in this population, future research, and clinical practice are discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Martin Cernvall
- Clinical Psychology in Healthcare, Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- * E-mail:
| | - Emma Hovén
- Clinical Psychology in Healthcare, Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Lisa Ljungman
- Clinical Psychology in Healthcare, Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Gustaf Ljungman
- Pediatric Oncology, Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Per Carlbring
- Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Louise von Essen
- Clinical Psychology in Healthcare, Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Bryant RA. Social attachments and traumatic stress. Eur J Psychotraumatol 2016; 7:29065. [PMID: 26996531 PMCID: PMC4800287 DOI: 10.3402/ejpt.v7.29065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2015] [Revised: 01/24/2016] [Accepted: 02/18/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The extent to which we engage with our social world has been central to our survival as a species and, accordingly, is relevant to how we cope with trauma and adversity. This review summarises current knowledge about the importance of social connections from an evolutionary perspective, as well as integrating this with a discussion of prevailing attachment theories. Experimental research supporting the potential benefit of attachments for managing adversity are presented, along with a review of how these benefits are moderated by individual differences in attachment style. The potential impact of trauma on attachment systems, and the manner in which this can compound trauma stress is discussed. Finally, a broader overview of social network analysis is introduced and it is proposed that a more sociocentric framework of trauma response would promote a fuller understanding of how social processes moderate trauma response.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Richard A Bryant
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia;
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Alves RDCS, Portugal LCL, Fernandes O, Mocaiber I, Souza GGL, David IDPA, Volchan E, de Oliveira L, Pereira MG. Exposure to trauma-relevant pictures is associated with tachycardia in victims who had experienced an intense peritraumatic defensive response: the tonic immobility. Front Psychol 2014; 5:1514. [PMID: 25566169 PMCID: PMC4274794 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2014] [Accepted: 12/08/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Tonic immobility is an involuntary, last-ditch defensive reaction characterized by physical inactivity in a context of inescapable threat that has been described in many species, including humans. The occurrence of this defensive response is a predictor of the severity of psychiatric disorders and may be considered as an index of an intense reaction to a traumatic event. Here, we investigated whether the retrospective reports of peritraumatic tonic immobility reaction in participants exposed to a traumatic event would modify their cardiac responses to pictures related to their trauma. Using a questionnaire of life-threating events, we selected students who experienced violent crime as their most intense trauma and students who had never experienced a violent crime trauma, but experienced other traumatic events. All participants completed a questionnaire that estimated the intensity of tonic immobility during their most intense trauma. Electrocardiographic recordings were collected during exposure to pictures. Participants viewed emotional pictures (human attack with guns) and neutral pictures. These emotional stimuli were selected to be trauma-relevant to the violent crime group and non trauma-relevant to the no violent crime trauma group. Violent crime group showed a positive correlation between heart rate changes after viewing trauma-related pictures and tonic immobility scores. We observed that low tonic immobility scores were associated with bradycardia and high scores with tachycardia in response to trauma-relevant pictures. For the no violent crime group, no significant correlation was detected. These results suggest that the relevance of the stimuli and the magnitude of the defensive response during a previous trauma event were important factors triggering more intense defensive responses.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rita de Cassia S Alves
- Laboratory of Neurophysiology of Behavior, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Biomedical Institute, Federal Fluminense University Niterói, Brazil
| | - Liana C L Portugal
- Laboratory of Neurophysiology of Behavior, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Biomedical Institute, Federal Fluminense University Niterói, Brazil
| | - Orlando Fernandes
- Laboratory of Neurophysiology of Behavior, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Biomedical Institute, Federal Fluminense University Niterói, Brazil
| | - Izabela Mocaiber
- Laboratory of Neurophysiology of Behavior, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Biomedical Institute, Federal Fluminense University Niterói, Brazil
| | - Gabriela G L Souza
- Laboratory of Psychophysiology, Department of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Ouro Preto Ouro Preto, Brazil
| | - Isabel de Paula A David
- Laboratory of Neurophysiology of Behavior, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Biomedical Institute, Federal Fluminense University Niterói, Brazil
| | - Eliane Volchan
- Laboratory of Neurobiology II, Institute of Biophysics Carlos Chagas Filho, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Leticia de Oliveira
- Laboratory of Neurophysiology of Behavior, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Biomedical Institute, Federal Fluminense University Niterói, Brazil
| | - Mirtes G Pereira
- Laboratory of Neurophysiology of Behavior, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Biomedical Institute, Federal Fluminense University Niterói, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Abstract
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is a diagnosis related to the past. Pre-traumatic stress reactions, as measured by intrusive involuntary images of possible future stressful events and their associated avoidance and increased arousal, have been overlooked in the PTSD literature. Here we introduce a scale that measures pre-traumatic stress reactions providing a clear future-oriented parallel to the posttraumatic stress reactions described in the diagnostic criteria for PTSD. We apply this pre-traumatic stress reactions checklist (PreCL) to Danish soldiers before, during, and after deployment to Afghanistan. The PreCL has good internal consistency and is highly correlated with a standard measure of PTSD symptoms. The PreCL as answered before the soldiers' deployment significantly predicted level of PTSD symptoms during and after their deployment, while controlling for baseline PTSD symptoms and combat exposure measured during and after deployment. The findings have implications for the conceptualization of PTSD, screening, and treatment.
Collapse
|
8
|
Ostrowski SA, Ciesla JA, Lee TJ, Irish L, Christopher NC, Delahanty DL. The impact of caregiver distress on the longitudinal development of child acute post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in pediatric injury victims. J Pediatr Psychol 2011; 36:806-15. [PMID: 21262744 PMCID: PMC3146753 DOI: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsq113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2010] [Revised: 11/30/2010] [Accepted: 11/30/2010] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The present study prospectively examined the development of child PTSD symptoms (PTSS) and the impact of caregiver PTSS on child PTSS following injury. METHODS One hundred and eighteen ED patients and their caregivers were interviewed in-hospital and 2- and 6-weeks posttrauma. Structural equation modeling and hierarchical linear regressions examined the development of PTSS. RESULTS A model combining child and caregiver 2-week PTSS into one latent family PTSS variable provided the best fit to the data. Child in-hospital avoidance symptoms predicted higher levels of 2-week family PTSS. Two-week family PTSS predicted child 6-week PTSS. Post hoc analyses revealed an interaction between in-hospital caregiver avoidance symptoms and child reexperiencing symptoms in predicting 6-week child PTSS. CONCLUSIONS Results highlight the dynamic development of child PTSS. Different symptom clusters may be related to higher PTSS at differing times posttrauma and may inform the development of time-sensitive methods of assessment and intervention for injury victims.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah A Ostrowski
- Department of Psychology, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY 42101-1030, USA.
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
9
|
Johnson KJ, Waugh CE, Fredrickson BL. Smile to see the forest: Facially expressed positive emotions broaden cognition. Cogn Emot 2010; 24:299-321. [PMID: 23275681 DOI: 10.1080/02699930903384667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
The broaden hypothesis, part of Fredrickson's (1998, 2001) broaden-and-build theory, proposes that positive emotions lead to broadened cognitive states. Here, we present evidence that cognitive broadening can be produced by frequent facial expressions of positive emotion. Additionally, we present a novel method of using facial electromyography (EMG) to discriminate between Duchenne (genuine) and non-Duchenne (non-genuine) smiles. Across experiments, Duchenne smiles occurred more frequently during positive emotion inductions than neutral or negative inductions. Across experiments, Duchenne smiles correlated with self-reports of specific positive emotions. In Experiment 1, high frequencies of Duchenne smiles predicted increased attentional breadth on a global-local visual processing task. In Experiment 2, high frequencies of Duchenne smiles predicted increased attentional flexibility on a covert attentional orienting task. These data underscore the value of using multiple methods to measure emotional experience in studies of emotion and cognition.
Collapse
|
10
|
Weber DL. Information Processing Bias in Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. Open Neuroimag J 2008; 2:29-51. [PMID: 19639038 PMCID: PMC2714576 DOI: 10.2174/1874440000802010029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2007] [Revised: 05/05/2008] [Accepted: 05/22/2008] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
This review considers theory and evidence for abnormal information processing in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Cognitive studies have indicated sensitivity in PTSD for traumatic information, more so than general emotional information. These findings were supported by neuroimaging studies that identify increased brain activity during traumatic cognition, especially in affective networks (including the amygdala, orbitofrontal and anterior cingulate cortex). In theory, it is proposed that traumatic cognition may interfere with neutral cognition and there is evidence of abnormal neutral stimulus processing in PTSD. Firstly, PTSD patients perform poorly on a variety of neuropsychology tasks that involve attention and memory for neutral information. The evidence from event-related potentials and functional neuroimaging also indicates abnormal results in PTSD during neutral stimulus processing. The research evidence generally provides support for theories of trauma sensitivity and abnormal neutral stimulus processing in PTSD. However, there is only tentative evidence that trauma cognition concurrently interferes with neutral cognition. There is even some evidence that traumatic or novelty arousal processes can increase the capacity for attentive processing, thereby enhancing cognition for neutral stimulus information. Research on this topic has not yet fully explored the mechanisms of interaction between traumatic and neutral content in the cognitive dynamics of PTSD.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Darren L Weber
- Dynamic Neuroimaging Laboratory The University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Phenomenological Characteristics of Attentional Biases Towards Threat: A Critical Review. COGNITIVE THERAPY AND RESEARCH 2007; 33:221-234. [PMID: 20622985 DOI: 10.1007/s10608-007-9161-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 165] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Although research has consistently revealed the presence of a general attentional bias towards threat, empirical and theoretical ambiguity exists in determining whether attentional biases are comprised of facilitated attention to threat, difficulty in disengagement from threat, or both, as well as whether attentional biases reflect automatic or strategic processes. This paper reviews empirical investigations across 4 common assessment tasks: the Stroop (masked and unmasked), dot probe, visual search, and the Posner tasks. Although the review finds inconsistencies both within and between assessment tasks, the evidence suggests that attentional biases towards threat are comprised of each of the phenomenological characteristics addressed in this paper. Contemporary theoretical models of attentional biases in anxiety are summarized and critically reviewed in light of the current evidence. Suggestions for future research are addressed, including a need to investigate the psychometric properties of the assessment tasks, to utilize consistent theoretically driven operationalizations of attentional biases, and to provide a temporal description of the characteristics of attentional biases towards threat.
Collapse
|
12
|
Saigh PA, Yasik AE, Oberfield RA, Halamandaris PV, Bremner JD. The intellectual performance of traumatized children and adolescents with or without posttraumatic stress disorder. JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 2006; 115:332-40. [PMID: 16737397 PMCID: PMC3232057 DOI: 10.1037/0021-843x.115.2.332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
This study compared the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III (WISC-III) scores of traumatized youth with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to the scores of trauma-exposed and nonexposed comparison groups without PTSD. All groups were free of additional major childhood psychiatric disorders. The PTSD group scored significantly lower than the comparison groups on verbal subtests, but not on performance subtests. The scores of the trauma-exposed PTSD negatives and nontrauma exposed controls were not significantly different. Accordingly, PTSD and not a history of trauma exposure in the absence of PTSD was associated with lower verbal IQ.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Philip A Saigh
- Department of Health and Behavior Studies, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
13
|
Abstract
Preclinical studies show that stress is associated with changes in structure of the hippocampus, a brain area that plays a critical role in memory, inhibition of neurogenesis, and memory deficits. Studies in animals showed that both serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and the epilepsy medication phenytoin (dilantin) block the effects of stress on the hippocampus. Imaging studies in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have found smaller volume of the hippocampus as measured with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with PTSD related to both combat and childhood abuse. These patients were also found to have deficits in memory on neuropsychological testing. Functional imaging studies using positron emission tomography (PET) found decreased hippocampal activation with memory tasks. In an initial study, we found that a year of treatment with paroxetine led to a 5% increase in hippocampal volume and a 35% increase in memory function. A second study showed that phenytoin was efficacious for symptoms of PTSD and led to a significant 6% increase in both right hippocampal and right whole brain volume, with no significant change in memory. These studies suggest that medications may counteract the effects of stress on the brain in patients with PTSD.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- J Douglas Bremner
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory Center for Positron Emission Tomography, Emory University School of Medicine, SS No. 539-64-8946, Suite 306E, 1256 Briarcliff Rd, Atlanta, GA 30307, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Saigh PA, Yasik AE, Oberfield RA, Halamandaris PV, Bremner JD. The intellectual performance of traumatized children and adolescents with or without posttraumatic stress disorder. JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 2006. [PMID: 16737397 DOI: 10.1037/0021-843x.115.2.332.] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
This study compared the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III (WISC-III) scores of traumatized youth with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to the scores of trauma-exposed and nonexposed comparison groups without PTSD. All groups were free of additional major childhood psychiatric disorders. The PTSD group scored significantly lower than the comparison groups on verbal subtests, but not on performance subtests. The scores of the trauma-exposed PTSD negatives and nontrauma exposed controls were not significantly different. Accordingly, PTSD and not a history of trauma exposure in the absence of PTSD was associated with lower verbal IQ.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Philip A Saigh
- Department of Health and Behavior Studies, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|