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Do personality traits predict post-traumatic stress?: a prospective study in civilians experiencing air attacks
Goran Knezević1, Goran Opacić, Danka Savić
1Psychosocial Centre and Centre for Rehabilitation of Torture Victims, International Aid Network, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro.
Psychological Medicine
|May 28, 2005
Summary
Pre-trauma personality traits can predict some post-traumatic stress intrusion symptoms in civilians. This study shows personality assessment before trauma offers limited predictive value for stress responses.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Trauma Studies
- Personality Research
Background:
- Previous research linked personality traits to post-traumatic stress (PTS).
- Prior studies often focused on military veterans or assessed personality post-trauma.
- This research examines pre-trauma personality's predictive power for civilian PTS.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if personality traits assessed before a traumatic event predict post-traumatic stress in civilians.
- To investigate the predictive relationship over time (immediate and 1 year post-event).
Main Methods:
- Utilized the NEO Personality Inventory for pre-trauma personality assessment.
- Measured post-traumatic stress using the Impact of Event Scale.
- Studied 70 students in Belgrade exposed to 11 weeks of air attacks.
Main Results:
- Pre-trauma personality traits predicted 13% of the variance in intrusion symptoms one year post-air attacks.
- No significant correlation was found between personality traits and avoidance symptoms at any time point.
Conclusions:
- Pre-trauma personality traits have a limited ability to predict intrusive symptoms in civilians post-trauma.
- Personality assessments conducted before a traumatic event may show weaker associations with post-traumatic stress compared to post-event assessments.
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