AI Article Synopsis

  • The study investigates how changes in negative posttraumatic cognitions may help reduce PTSD symptoms in patients undergoing Prolonged Exposure (PE) therapy, particularly those with a history of childhood abuse.
  • By analyzing data from 83 patients at different treatment stages, the research shows that improvements in posttraumatic cognitions predict subsequent decreases in PTSD symptoms, rather than the other way around.
  • The findings support the idea that addressing negative cognitions is crucial in PE therapy and suggest using the abbreviated Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory (PTCI-9) to monitor these cognitive changes over time.

Article Abstract

Change in negative posttraumatic cognitions is a proposed mechanism through which Prolonged Exposure (PE) leads to symptom reduction of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A strong case for posttraumatic cognitions as a change mechanism in PTSD treatment can be made by establishing temporal precedence of change in cognitions. The current study examines the temporal relationship between change in posttraumatic cognitions and PTSD symptoms during PE, using the Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory. Patients with DSM-5 defined PTSD following childhood abuse (N = 83) received a maximum of 14-16 sessions of PE. Clinician-rated PTSD symptom severity and posttraumatic cognitions were assessed at baseline, week 4, 8, and 16 (post-treatment). Using time-lagged mixed effect regression models, we found that posttraumatic cognitions predicted subsequent PTSD symptom improvement. Notably, when using the items of an abbreviated version of the PTCI (PTCI-9), we found a mutual relationship between posttraumatic cognitions and PTSD symptom improvement. Crucially, the effect of change in cognitions on PTSD symptom change was greater than the reverse effect. The current findings corroborate change in posttraumatic cognitions as a change process during PE, but cognitions and symptoms cannot be completely separated. The PTCI-9 is a short instrument that appears suitable to track cognitive change over time.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2023.104284DOI Listing

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