Disaster-related posttraumatic stress symptoms and sustained attention: evaluation of depressive symptomatology and sleep disturbances as mediators.
Research about attentional functioning following trauma has almost exclusively been performed in patient populations with combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In this study the relationship between sustained attention and PTSD symptoms was examined in a community sample of survivors of a major disaster using the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (PASAT) and the Self-Rating Scale for PTSD (SRS-PTSD) 2-3 years postdisaster. Analyses revealed low but significant partial correlations between PTSD symptoms and the least difficult subtests, ruling out the effects of age, education, depressive symptomatology, and sleep disturbances. These results demonstrate that PTSD symptoms link to attentional dysfunction 2-3 years postdisaster.
Meewisse
Marie-Louise
ML
Center for Psychological Trauma, Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical Center/De Meren, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. m.l.meewisse@amc.uva.nl
Nijdam
Mirjam J
MJ
de Vries
Giel-Jan
GJ
Gersons
Berthold P R
BP
Kleber
Rolf J
RJ
van der Velden
Peter G
PG
Roskam
Albert-Jan
AJ
Christiaanse
Berdi
B
Drogendijk
Annelieke N
AN
Olff
Miranda
M
D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D005107:Explosions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires