Longitudinal Stroop Score changes in adolescent females with PTSD.
This study is a preliminary investigation that analyzed whether or not the Emotional Stroop procedure would be able to detect the changes in PTSD levels of individuals as they undergo treatment for that disorder. This repeated measures, small n study utilized 8 in-patient adolescent females with a history of sexual abuse and an Axis I diagnosis of PTSD. Individuals were given the Emotional Stroop procedure and two standardized, self-report measures of PTSD every two weeks over the course offive months. In addition, daily point sheets of adaptive behavior were also collected. The individual's change on the standardized measures was compared against their change in reaction time on the Emotional Stroop procedure, and changes in the percentage of time the individual earned privileges based on the behavioral management system. The results provided some promising information that suggests that these measures do co-vary and that the Emotional Stroop does indeed reflect variations in levels of PTSD. This is the first study to show that therapeutic changes in PTSD are reflected in changing reaction times on the Emotional Stroop.
New York City Department of Education, USA. jvs810@yahoo.com
Jose
J
Salazar
Robert
R
Motta
D000293:Adolescent; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008134:Long-Term Care; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D010343:Patient Admission; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D057190:Stroop Test / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*