Psychological Symptoms and Rates of Performance Validity Improve Following Trauma-Focused Treatment in Veterans with PTSD and History of Mild-to-Moderate TBI.

Objective: Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) history have high rates of performance validity test (PVT) failure. The study aimed to determine whether those with scores in the invalid versus valid range on PVTs show similar benefit from psychotherapy and if psychotherapy improves PVT performance.

Method: Veterans (N = 100) with PTSD, mild-to-moderate TBI history, and cognitive complaints underwent neuropsychological testing at baseline, post-treatment, and 3-month post-treatment.

Videoconferencing psychotherapy for veterans with PTSD: Results from a randomized controlled non-inferiority trial.

Introduction: Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) face significant barriers that make it less likely for them to pursue treatment. A randomized controlled non-inferiority trial was used to determine if providing psychotherapy for PTSD via videoconference (VC) is as effective as in-person (IP) psychotherapy.

Methods: All eligible veterans ( = 207) received cognitive processing therapy (CPT) to treat PTSD symptoms in one of the two treatment modalities.

SMART-CPT for veterans with comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder and history of traumatic brain injury: a randomised controlled trial.

Objective: To better concurrently address emotional and neuropsychological symptoms common in veterans with comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and history of traumatic brain injury (TBI), we integrated components of compensatory cognitive training from the Cognitive Symptom Management and Rehabilitation Therapy (CogSMART) programme into cognitive processing therapy (CPT) for PTSD to create a hybrid treatment, SMART-CPT (CogSMART+CPT). This study compared the efficacy of standard CPT with SMART-CPT for treatment of veterans with comorbid PTSD and history of TBI reporting cognitive symptoms.

Methods: One hundred veterans with PTSD, a history of mild to moderate TBI and current cognitive complaints were randomised and received individually delivered CPT or SMART-CPT for 12 weeks.

Individual Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Using Mantram Repetition: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Objective: Previous studies suggest that group "mantram" (sacred word) repetition therapy, a non-trauma-focused complementary therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), may be an effective treatment for veterans. The authors compared individually delivered mantram repetition therapy and another non-trauma-focused treatment for PTSD.

Method: The study was a two-site, open-allocation, blinded-assessment randomized trial involving 173 veterans diagnosed with military-related PTSD from two Veterans Affairs outpatient clinics (January 2012 to March 2014).

Contributions to Executive Dysfunction in Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and History of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

Objective: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), history of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), and executive function (EF) difficulties are prevalent in Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) Veterans. We evaluated the contributions of injury variables, lower-order cognitive component processes (processing speed/attention), and psychological symptoms to EF.

Participants: OEF/OIF Veterans (N = 65) with PTSD and history of mTBI were administered neuropsychological tests of EF and self-report assessments of PTSD and depression.

Evaluation of a hybrid treatment for Veterans with comorbid traumatic brain injury and posttraumatic stress disorder: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Comorbidity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and history of traumatic brain injury (TBI) is high among Veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom/Enduring Freedom/New Dawn (OIF/OEF/OND). Cognitive processing therapy (CPT) is empirically supported for the treatment of PTSD, but it is not specifically designed to accommodate the memory, attention, or problem solving deficits that are experienced by many Veterans with comorbid PTSD and TBI. Compensatory cognitive rehabilitation, including cognitive symptom management and rehabilitation therapy (CogSMART), is effective for cognitive deficits stemming from a variety of etiologies, including TBI.

The impact of maternal childhood abuse on parenting and infant temperament.

The impact of maternal history of maltreatment and psychopathology on mother-child relationship, parenting, and infant temperament was evaluated. Women completed self-report measures addressing childhood trauma, psychopathology, infant-parent relationship, parenting, and infant temperament. Maternal physical abuse was associated with poorer mother-child interactions, increased vigilance, and difficulty recovering from distress among infants, whereas a history of emotional abuse was linked with less interactional dysfunction, lower levels of infant frustration, and more pleasure.

Associations between maternal childhood maltreatment and psychopathology and aggression during pregnancy and postpartum.

Objective: This study examines the association between maternal childhood maltreatment and psychopathology and aggression in intimate relationships during pregnancy and the postpartum period.

Method: Forty-four pregnant women who were recruited from an obstetric clinic and local advertising periodical completed questionnaires about childhood maltreatment and psychopathology during their first trimester of pregnancy. Approximately 1 year after the birth of the child, 32 of the original participants completed these same questionnaires.

Anxiety sensitivity as a predictor of labor pain.

Psychosocial factors have been implicated in the pain experience during childbirth, which can have both short- and long-term consequences on the mother's health and her relationship with her infant. The present study evaluated important demographic, social, and psychological factors as predictors of multiple dimensions of labor pain among 35 mothers during childbirth. The results indicated that anxiety sensitivity (AS), as measured by the Anxiety Sensitivity Index, shared a significant relation with maximum pain during labor as well as sensory and affective components of pain as measured by the McGill Pain Questionnaire.

Mental health and satisfaction with primary health care in female patients.

Purpose And Objectives: Patient satisfaction is an important outcome in patient care and is increasingly being used as an indicator of quality of care within large health systems. This study examined whether consideration of specific mental health factors, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), can improve our understanding of patient satisfaction in primary care settings.

Methods: Questionnaires were mailed to all women who used the VA San Diego Healthcare System primary care clinic in 1998.

The impact of individual forms of childhood maltreatment on health behavior.

Objective: This study examines the unique contribution of five types of maltreatment (sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, physical neglect, emotional neglect) to adult health behaviors as well as the additive impact of exposure to different types of childhood maltreatment.

Method: Two hundred and twenty-one women recruited from a VA primary care clinic completed questionnaires assessing exposure to childhood trauma and adult health behaviors. Regression models were used to test the relationship between childhood maltreatment and adult health behaviors.

Sexual trauma and pregnancy: a conceptual framework.

In this paper, we propose that a history of sexual traumatization is associated with pregnancy complications and poor pregnancy-related outcomes. We further hypothesize that this relationship is mediated by the sequelae of trauma (psychopathology, health problems, and increased negative health behaviors). We review the literature linking sexual trauma with psychopathology, health, and health behavior and then outline the impact of these variables on pregnancy.

Sexual trauma, posttraumatic stress disorder, and health behavior.

The authors tested whether sexual traumatization is associated with poorer health behavior and also evaluated the role of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in this relationship. They mailed questionnaires to 419 women who had visited a San Diego Veterans Administration primary care clinic in 1998 and received 221 responses, a 56% return rate. They found that a history of sexual assault was associated with increased substance use, risky sexual behaviors, less vigorous exercise, and increased preventive healthcare.