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Using a Murine Model of Psychosocial Stress in Pregnancy as a Translationally Relevant Paradigm for Psychiatric Disorders in Mothers and Infants
Published on: June 13, 2021
Women's posttraumatic stress responses to maternal breast cancer
Catherine E Mosher1, Sharon Danoff-Burg, Beverly Brunker
1Department of Psychology, University at Albany-State University of New York, Social Sciences 369, Albany, NY 12222, USA. cn7347@albany.edu
Abstract:
Levels of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and their relationships to demographic and psychosocial variables and maternal medical history were examined among 31 women with maternal histories of breast cancer. The results indicate that 19.4% of these women were likely to merit a PTSD diagnosis related to maternal breast cancer, particularly those who reported greater negative affect. In addition, PTSD symptom severity was positively associated with the mother's cancer stage at diagnosis and was inversely associated with participant age. These results suggest that maternal breast cancer is an emotionally traumatic event for many women and point to the potential influence of psychological factors and stressor characteristics on daughters' PTSD responses.
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