The present study aimed to investigate sleep disturbances and negative emotions as predictors of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom trajectories in a publicly available longitudinal dataset of patients (N = 1127; mean age = 36.53; SD = 13.29; 65.5% women) who presented to a U.S. emergency department (ED) in the early aftermath of a trauma exposure. Latent growth curve models were fitted iteratively to characterize PTSD symptom trajectories over 1-year. Models then examined the simultaneous influence of sleep disturbances (i.e., insomnia symptoms, nightmares, and sleep duration) and negative emotions (i.e., feelings of anxiety and depression) on PTSD symptom trajectories, as well as whether negative emotions mediate the link between sleep disturbances and PTSD symptom trajectories. Results indicated that (a) PTSD symptom trajectories reflected a quadratic trend across time, although there was variability between individuals, (b) both sleep disturbances and negative emotions were uniquely associated with PTSD symptom trajectories, and (c) negative emotions partially explained associations between sleep disturbances and PTSD symptom trajectories. The results from this study can potentially aid detection of modifiable risk factors during the early course of PTSD and inform cognitive-behavioral intervention efforts.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc2332601 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Messman, Brett Adam |
| Contributors | Slavish, Danica, Contractor, Ateka A., Blumenthal, Heidemarie |
| Publisher | University of North Texas |
| Source Sets | University of North Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | Text |
| Rights | Public, Messman, Brett Adam, Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights Reserved. |
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