title: The effects of prolonged exposure and sertraline on emotion regulation in individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder.
abstract: The effects of current posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) interventions on emotion regulation are relatively unknown. Many conceptualize PTSD as a disorder of emotion dysregulation, and clinicians often fear that emotion regulation impairments will not change with stand-alone PTSD treatments, particularly for individuals with pre-existing emotion regulation difficulties. The present study examined changes in emotion regulation (expressive suppression, cognitive reappraisal, negative mood regulation) with prolonged exposure (PE) therapy or sertraline, specifically examining whether those with higher pre-existing emotion regulation difficulties improved over treatment on these indices. Individuals with chronic PTSD (N = 200) received 10 weeks of PE or sertraline and were followed through 6-month follow-up. Emotion regulation was assessed at pre- and post-treatment and at 3- and 6-month follow-up. Individuals with poorer initial emotion regulation showed greater improvement on all indices of emotion regulation, regardless of which treatment they received. Changes occurred during active treatment and were maintained over follow-up. These findings have both theoretical and clinical implications, arguing that emotion regulation is not impaired across all individuals with PTSD and that PE and sertraline effectively address emotion regulation difficulties.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Guthrie Hall, Box 351525, Seattle, WA 98195-1525, United States. Electronic address: aworly@u.washington.edu.
authors.forename: Alissa B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Jerud
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Guthrie Hall, Box 351525, Seattle, WA 98195-1525, United States.
authors.forename: Larry D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Pruitt
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Guthrie Hall, Box 351525, Seattle, WA 98195-1525, United States.
authors.forename: Lori A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Zoellner
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Mather Memorial 103, 10900 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44106-7123, United States.
authors.forename: Norah C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Feeny
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000187:drug effects; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy / Q000523:psychology; D004644:Emotions / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007171:Implosive Therapy / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000068356:Self-Control / Q000523:psychology*; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D020280:Sertraline / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors; D020280:Sertraline
keywords: Emotion regulation; PTSD; Prolonged exposure; Sertraline; Treatment