A Theory of Planned Behavior Scale for Adherence to Trauma-Focused Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Treatments.

Evidence-based psychotherapies for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), such as cognitive processing therapy and prolonged exposure (CPT/PE), greatly reduce suffering for veterans, but many veterans fail to complete treatment. Developing a theory-based understanding of adherence is necessary to inform interventions to improve treatment retention. We developed and tested a series of scales applying the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to CPT/PE adherence.

Sticking it out in trauma-focused treatment for PTSD: It takes a village.

Objective: One in 3 veterans will dropout from trauma-focused treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Social environments may be particularly important to influencing treatment retention. We examined the role of 2 support system factors in predicting treatment dropout: social control (direct efforts by loved ones to encourage veterans to participate in treatment and face distress) and symptom accommodation (changes in loved ones' behavior to reduce veterans' PTSD-related distress).