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Relations Between Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms and Positive Memory Characteristics Among Women Reporting
Ateka A Contractor1, Prathiba Natesan Batley2, Sidonia E Compton1
1University of North Texas, Denton, TX, USA.
Journal of Interpersonal Violence
|December 21, 2022
Summary
This study found that more vivid and accessible positive memories were linked to higher posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom counts in women survivors. Further research is needed to understand this complex relationship.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Trauma Studies
Background:
- Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms are often associated with memory characteristics.
- Previous research suggests a link between PTSD and autobiographical memory, but daily fluctuations remain understudied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the daily trajectory of PTSD symptom count over 30 days.
- To investigate if daily vividness and accessibility of positive memories predict changes in PTSD symptom trajectories.
Main Methods:
- Secondary analysis of data from 74 women with recent victimization and substance use.
- Micro-longitudinal design with thrice-daily assessments of PTSD symptoms and positive memory characteristics (vividness, accessibility) over 30 days.
- Random effects longitudinal multilevel modeling was used.
Main Results:
- On average, higher PTSD symptom counts were positively associated with greater vividness (0.19) and accessibility (0.31) of positive memories.
- Significant individual variation existed in the relationship between PTSD symptoms and positive memory characteristics.
Conclusions:
- The findings indicate a complex, person-specific relationship between positive memory characteristics and PTSD symptom trajectories.
- Further research is warranted to explore the mechanisms underlying this association and its potential for clinical interventions in PTSD treatment.
Keywords:
intimate partner violencemicro-longitudinal studypositive memory accessibilitypositive memory vividnessposttraumatic stress disorder symptomsMore Related Videos
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