title: Differences in trauma and posttraumatic stress symptoms in clients with schizophrenia spectrum and major mood disorders.
abstract: The current study of 371 community mental health clients with severe mental illness examined differences in frequency of common lifetime trauma and other stressful events in clients with schizophrenia spectrum and major mood disorders in order to gauge the unique variance in posttraumatic stress symptoms explained by trauma/stressful events when controlling for other psychiatric measures. The overwhelming majority (88.1%) of these clients reported at least one stressful/traumatic event in their lifetime with a median of seven such events. Regression modeling revealed that physical abuse was uniquely predictive of posttraumatic stress symptoms when controlling for gender, psychiatric symptoms, and other problems in functioning. Suggestions for future trauma research include measuring multiple types and frequencies of traumatic events, including "non-criterion A" stressors, and controlling for other psychiatric symptoms and indicators of psychosocial functioning in order to better isolate the unique effects of trauma. Limitations of the study include the lack of a structured interview schedule for diagnosis and the cross sectional design.
authors.affiliation: Boston College, Graduate School of Social Work, 140 Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA. oharet@bc.edu
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: O'Hare
authors.forename: Ce
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sherrer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000453:epidemiology; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012742:Sex Offenses / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*