Ongoing traumatic stress during a global pandemic

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Trauma Studies
• Public Health

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic presented unique challenges, leading to its conceptualization as a potentially traumatic event.
• Heterogeneity in pandemic experiences and stress responses questions the direct applicability of the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) construct.
• Literature on chronic illness and continuous traumatic situations (CTS) suggests unique symptom presentations during ongoing traumas.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the applicability of the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnostic construct to COVID-19 experiences.
• To explore nuanced patterns of traumatic stress responses to the pandemic, differentiating PTSD from transient ongoing trauma responses.
• To investigate the utility of chronic illness and CTS frameworks in understanding pandemic-related stress.

Main Methods:

• Eighty-four adults completed the PTSD Checklist with additional questions on pandemic index events, symptom temporality, self-appraised abnormality, and context dependence.
• Exploratory latent profile analysis was employed to model the latent structure of traumatic stress responses to COVID-19.
• The analysis aimed to identify distinct symptom patterns indicative of PTSD versus ongoing trauma responses.

Main Results:

• Two primary profiles emerged, largely distinguished by severity, supporting the general aptness of the PTSD framework for COVID-19.
• Secondary analyses indicated nuances: some participants meeting PTSD criteria did not endorse Criterion A index events.
• A significant portion endorsed intrusive symptoms related to present/future threats and reported context-dependent symptoms, aligning with CTS frameworks.

Conclusions:

• The findings underscore the need for refined assessment tools for pandemic-related trauma.
• Opportunities exist for modifying treatment approaches to better address the unique aspects of COVID-19-related stress.
• Further research is warranted to integrate insights from chronic illness and CTS literature into trauma response frameworks.