Latent Profiles of Drinking Motives Among Trauma-Exposed Combat Veterans and Civilians: A Comparative Investigation.

Trauma exposure and drinking motives (e.g., social, enhancement, coping) are both associated with increased alcohol use and related problems.

Feasibility of a Virtual Adaptation of a Yoga Intervention for Veterans with Chronic Pain and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

This study assessed the feasibility and acceptability of a yoga intervention for veterans with comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and chronic pain (CP) that was adapted for virtual implementation. This pilot feasibility study at a large, mid-Atlantic Veteran's Affairs (VA) Medical Center with veterans with both PTSD and CP examined the adaptation of an eight-session virtual yoga group intervention. Participants ( = 18, 11 completers) were primarily male (82.

Assessing shared psychological constructs as risk factors in comorbid PTSD-AUD combat-exposed male veterans.

PTSD and AUD are frequently comorbid post-trauma outcomes. Much remains unknown about shared risk factors as PTSD and AUD work tends to be conducted in isolation. We examined how self-report measures of distress tolerance (DT), experiential avoidance (EA), and drinking motives (DM) differed across diagnostic groups in white, male combat-exposed veterans ( = 77).

Temporal relations between alcohol use, posttraumatic stress disorder, and internalizing symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic: An ecological momentary assessment investigation.

Objective: COVID-19 is a collective stressor associated with both increased mental health symptoms and increased frequency of alcohol use. These increases highlight the need for investigations into the functional relationships between traumatic stress symptoms and alcohol use in the wake of the pandemic. This study sought to use ecological momentary assessment to examine the temporal association of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with alcohol use during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Narrative Commentary on the Use of a Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy-Informed Group to Address Irrational Beliefs, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and Comorbidities.

Irrational beliefs of Demandingness, Catastrophizing, Low Frustration Tolerance, and Depreciation have demonstrated prevalence in disparate areas of life, including psychopathology, the military, politics, religion, and education. Individuals with mental health concerns, such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), endorse elevations in such thoughts compared to the general population. This commentary describes the rationale for focusing on irrational beliefs in efforts to address PTSD and presents the Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)-Informed Group for PTSD as a potential novel application of a well-established intervention.

Examining interactions between polygenic scores and interpersonal trauma exposure on alcohol consumption and use disorder in an ancestrally diverse college cohort.

Genetic factors impact alcohol consumption and use disorder (AUD), with large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) identifying numerous associated variants. Aggregate genetic methods in combination with important environmental factors (e.g.

The effect of a reduction in irrational beliefs on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety symptoms in a group treatment for post-9/11 Veterans.

Previous research has indicated that a Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)-Informed Group focused on changing irrational beliefs to address comorbid depression and anxiety (as well as anger and guilt) in a combat Veteran population diagnosed with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) demonstrated significant reductions in depression and PTSD symptoms at posttreatment. However, mechanisms of change associated with improvement have not been evaluated. REBT theory suggests that a decline in irrational beliefs predicts a decrease in PTSD, depression, and anxiety symptoms.

COVID and college: how the pandemic impacted alcohol use disorder status among students.

Alcohol consumption patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic have varied notably. We examined the acute impact of the pandemic on alcohol use disorder (AUD) in a generalizable sample of college students who were surveyed pre-pandemic and re-surveyed in May 2020. Items assessed pre-pandemic included DSM-5 AUD and mental health symptoms.

Rare copy number variation in posttraumatic stress disorder.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a heritable (h = 24-71%) psychiatric illness. Copy number variation (CNV) is a form of rare genetic variation that has been implicated in the etiology of psychiatric disorders, but no large-scale investigation of CNV in PTSD has been performed. We present an association study of CNV burden and PTSD symptoms in a sample of 114,383 participants (13,036 cases and 101,347 controls) of European ancestry.

Modeling the association between and predictors of two constructs of resilience.

Purpose: Resilience serves as a protective factor against adverse outcomes following exposure to traumatic events. The extant literature focuses on psychiatric resilience in the context of internalizing symptoms, though resilience is also important in relation to externalizing symptoms. Research is needed to clarify the predictors of resilience across contexts.

The longitudinal buffering effects of resilience on alcohol use outcomes.

Objective: Traumatic events (TE) are a risk factor for alcohol use disorder (AUD). Resilience may be protective of the effects of TE exposure, but few studies have longitudinally tested the buffering hypothesis. Thus, the present study aimed to fill this gap.

Effectiveness of a Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)-Informed Group for Post-9/11 Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Various treatments aimed for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have been developed for veterans, but many are not formatted for use in groups, do not address common psychiatric comorbidities, and include inherent barriers (e.g., substantial time commitment).

Longitudinal Examination of the Impact of Resilience and Stressful Life Events on Alcohol Use Disorder Outcomes.

Stressful life events (SLEs) are a risk factor for alcohol use problems, and there is a need for identification of factors that may offset this risk. Resilience is uniquely, inversely associated with alcohol use, but there remains a dearth of research examining the buffering effect of resilience toward alcohol use problems in the context of SLEs. This study used prospective data from an epidemiological twin sample (=7441) to test whether resilience at Time 1 would act as a buffer for new onset SLEs (e.

Psychiatric Resilience and Alcohol Resistance: A Twin Study of Genetic Correlation and Sex Differences.

Variability in psychiatric response following stressful/traumatic life events is frequently observed. There is also variability in propensity for alcohol use disorder (AUD) such that some can consume substantial amounts and not develop AUD symptoms whereas others develop an AUD. Our group has applied discrepancy-based approaches to capture psychiatric resilience (PR) and alcohol resistance (AR), both moderately heritable.

Intraindividual association of PTSD symptoms with binge drinking among trauma-exposed students.

People, particularly undergraduate students, who report elevated symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are at elevated risk of binge drinking. The present study used ecological momentary assessment to (a) evaluate whether PTSD severity, specifically, or psychological distress, generally, are associated with binge drinking and (b) examine the self-medication and susceptibility models of the comorbidity of PTSD with binge drinking while accounting for shared liability (i.e.

Epigenome-Wide Study of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Severity in a Treatment-Seeking Adolescent Sample.

Emerging research has demonstrated that psychosocial trauma exposure may elicit epigenetic changes, with downstream effects on the transcriptional regulation of genes. Epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) offer an agnostic approach to examine DNA methylation (DNAm) associations and are a valuable tool to aid in the identification of biological pathways involved in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study represents the first EWAS of PTSD in an adolescent sample, an important group given the significance of this developmental period regarding both DNAm changes and PTSD risk.

Diagnostic validity of the PC-PTSD screen in college students.

The purpose of this study was to test the diagnostic validity of the Primary Care PTSD screen (PC-PTSD) in a generalizable college sample and to examine potential differences in its predictive efficacy according to sex and racial/ethnic identity. An exploratory aim was to determine whether PC-PTSD symptom items differentially predicted PTSD diagnostic status. Data from 475 undergraduates were analyzed.

Does Prior Civilian Trauma Moderate the Relationship Between Combat Trauma and Post-deployment Mental Health Symptoms?

In addition to combat trauma, childhood and adult non-military, interpersonal trauma exposures have been linked to a range of psychiatric symptoms (e.g., alcohol use problems, posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD], depression symptoms) in veterans.

Yoga for warriors: An intervention for veterans with comorbid chronic pain and PTSD.

Objective: Comorbid chronic pain and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is common in veterans; this comorbidity is associated with increased severity and poorer prognosis when compared to each outcome alone. Yoga has been shown to be effective for chronic pain and promising for PTSD, but yoga for comorbid pain and PTSD has not been examined. This article offers empirical support for a yoga intervention for comorbid chronic pain and PTSD in a veteran population.

Meta-Analysis of Associations Between Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Genes and Risk of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis has been of interest in attempts to identify genetic vulnerability for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Although numerous HPA-axis genes have been implicated in candidate gene studies, the findings are mixed and interpretation is limited by study design and methodological inconsistencies. To address these inconsistencies in the PTSD candidate gene literature, we conducted meta-analyses of HPA-related genes from both a traditional single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-level analysis and a gene-level analysis, using novel methods aggregating markers in the same gene.

Shared molecular genetic risk of alcohol dependence and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) frequently co-occur, highlighting the importance of understanding the etiology of these comorbid conditions. Although AUD and PTSD are moderately heritable with modest overlap in genetic risk as estimated from family studies, there has been a paucity of work using molecular genetic data to estimate shared genetic effects on these conditions. This study used large-scale genomewide molecular data to examine shared genetic risk for AUD, specifically alcohol dependence (AD), and PTSD through cross-trait linkage disequilibrium (LD) score regression (LDSC; also known as LDSR).

Racial differences in posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms among African American and Caucasian male veterans.

Objective: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the most prevalent mental health diagnoses for veterans. Previous research as well as the minority stress model and transgenerational trauma theories, suggest that race may be associated with PTSD, particularly in veterans. The current study examined whether there were racial differences in symptomology in a sample of combat veterans with PTSD (global and symptom cluster-specific).