title: Distress Tolerance: Associations With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Among Trauma-Exposed, Cocaine-Dependent Adults.
abstract: The present investigation examined associations between distress tolerance and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in a cocaine-dependent sample. Participants were comprised of 138 cocaine-dependent adults (Mage = 45.4, SD = 9.9; 81% male; 76.3% African American) who endorsed trauma exposure, defined according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., text rev.; DSM-IV-TR) PTSD Criterion A. Participants were administered interview-based measures and completed a series of self-report questionnaires. Results indicated that distress tolerance was significantly, incrementally (negatively) associated with PTSD symptom severity, contributing 6.8% of unique variance to the model (p < .001); notably, the overall model explained 44.8% of variance in PTSD symptomatology. Distress tolerance also contributed between 2.7% and 6.8% of unique variance across each of the PTSD symptom clusters (ps < .05). Incremental effects were documented, after accounting for the variance explained by theoretically relevant covariates (i.e., gender, cocaine-use severity, depressive symptoms, trauma-exposure severity). Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.
authors.affiliation: University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, USA Anka.A.Vujanovic@uth.tmc.edu.
authors.forename: Anka A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Vujanovic
authors.affiliation: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA.
authors.forename: Nuvan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rathnayaka
authors.affiliation: University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, USA.
authors.forename: Christina D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Amador
authors.affiliation: University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, USA.
authors.forename: Joy M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Schmitz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D057566:Self Report; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D000068099:Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology
keywords: PTSD; cocaine; distress tolerance; posttraumatic stress; trauma