title: Auditory hallucinations and PTSD in ex-POWS.
abstract: Literature has suggested that auditory hallucinations might be prevalent in the general population and could be linked to the experience of trauma. This prospective study examines the prevalence of auditory hallucinations in trauma survivors and its association with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, over time. Former prisoners of war (ex-POWs) from the 1973 Yom Kippur War (n = 99) with and without PTSD and comparable veterans (n = 103) were assessed twice, in 1991 (T1) and 2003 (T2) in regard to auditory hallucinations and PTSD symptoms. Findings indicated that ex-POWs who suffered from PTSD reported higher levels of auditory hallucinations at T2 as well as increased hallucinations over time, compared to ex-POWs without PTSD and combatants who did not endure captivity. The relation between PTSD and auditory hallucinations was unidirectional, so that the PTSD overall score at T1 predicted an increase in auditory hallucinations between T1 and T2, but not vice versa. Assessing the role of PTSD clusters in predicting hallucinations revealed that intrusion symptoms had a unique contribution, compared to avoidance and hyperarousal symptoms. The findings suggest that auditory hallucinations might be a consequence of the posttraumatic reaction among veterans.
authors.affiliation: a I-Core Research Center for Mass Trauma , Tel-Aviv University , Tel-Aviv , Israel.|b Bob Shapell School of Social Work , Tel-Aviv University , Tel-Aviv , Israel.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Crompton
authors.affiliation: a I-Core Research Center for Mass Trauma , Tel-Aviv University , Tel-Aviv , Israel.|c Department of Psychology , University of Southern Denmark , Odense , Denmark.
authors.forename: Yael
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lahav
authors.affiliation: a I-Core Research Center for Mass Trauma , Tel-Aviv University , Tel-Aviv , Israel.|b Bob Shapell School of Social Work , Tel-Aviv University , Tel-Aviv , Israel.
authors.forename: Zahava
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Solomon
mesh_terms: D006212:Hallucinations / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D063906:Prisoners of War / Q000523:psychology*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Auditory hallucinations; PTSD; ex-POWs; trauma; war captivity