title: Accounting for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Severity With Pre- and Posttrauma Measures: A Longitudinal Study of Older Adults.
abstract: Using data from a longitudinal study of community-dwelling older adults, we analyzed the most extensive set of known correlates of PTSD symptoms obtained from a single sample to examine the measures' independent and combined utility in accounting for PTSD symptom severity. Fifteen measures identified as PTSD risk factors in published meta-analyses and 12 theoretically and empirically supported individual difference and health-related measures were included. Individual difference measures assessed after the trauma, including insecure attachment and factors related to the current trauma memory, such as self-rated severity, event centrality, frequency of involuntary recall, and physical reactions to the memory, accounted for symptom severity better than measures of pre-trauma factors. In an analysis restricted to prospective measures assessed before the trauma, the total variance explained decreased from 56% to 16%. Results support a model of PTSD in which characteristics of the current trauma memory promote the development and maintenance of PTSD symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Duke University.
authors.forename: Christin M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Ogle
authors.affiliation: Duke University and Aarhus University.
authors.forename: David C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Rubin
authors.affiliation: Duke University and Duke University Medical Center.
authors.forename: Ilene C
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Siegler
keywords: PTSD; autobiographical memory; older adults; risk factors; trauma