Path analytic examination of a cognitive model of PTSD

Ehlers and Clark (2000) developed a cognitive model of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom maintenance which implicated the role of posttraumatic cognitions and aspects of the trauma memory in maintaining symptoms via an increased sense of current threat. The aim of the current study was to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Behaviour research and therapy 2011-03, Vol.49 (3), p.194-201
Main Authors: Lancaster, Steven L., Rodriguez, Benjamin F., Weston, Rebecca
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Anxiety disorders. Neuroses
Biological and medical sciences
Centrality
Cognition
Cognitive model
Emotional disorders
Female
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Memory
Models, Psychological
Path analysis
Post traumatic stress disorder
Posttraumatic stress disorder
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
PTSD
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - diagnosis
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - psychology
Studies
Surveys and Questionnaires
Symptoms
Trauma
Traumatic life events
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Summary:Ehlers and Clark (2000) developed a cognitive model of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom maintenance which implicated the role of posttraumatic cognitions and aspects of the trauma memory in maintaining symptoms via an increased sense of current threat. The aim of the current study was to empirically test a variant of this model using path analysis. Participants in the current study were 514 undergraduates at a midwestern university who reported experiencing at least one traumatic event. Path analyses examined various models of the possible relationships between one’s posttraumatic cognitions and the centrality of the traumatic event to the sense of self (considered an aspect of memory integration) in predicting current level of PTSD symptoms. Results indicate that both event centrality and posttraumatic cognitions are unique and independent predictors of current symptom level. Overall, the results of this study support aspects of Ehlers and Clark’s cognitive model of PTSD; cognitive appraisals of the self and centrality of the event were highly related to levels of distress. However, the current study suggests that overly integrated trauma memories may lead to greater distress and not poorly integrated ones as suggested by Ehlers and Clark.
ISSN:0005-7967
1873-622X
DOI:10.1016/j.brat.2011.01.002