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Future thinking in PTSD: Preliminary evidence for altered event construction.
Mieke Verfaellie1, Virginie Patt2, Ginette Lafleche2
1Memory Disorders Research Center, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston MA, USA.
Psychiatry Research
|February 7, 2024
Summary
Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) construct fewer specific future events, particularly positive ones when depression is present. Event construction is linked to clinical factors and event type.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Trauma Studies
Background:
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) significantly impacts cognitive functions, including future thinking.
- Understanding future event construction is crucial for assessing PTSD severity and treatment needs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate future event construction in war-zone veterans with and without PTSD.
- To identify clinical profiles associated with altered future event construction in PTSD.
Main Methods:
- A future event fluency task was administered to 38 trauma-exposed veterans (25 with PTSD, 13 without).
- Participants generated positive and negative future events for near and distant future timeframes within one minute.
Main Results:
- The PTSD group generated fewer specific future events compared to the no-PTSD group.
- This difference in specificity was more pronounced for positive events, especially in individuals with comorbid depression.
- Clinical correlates of event construction differed based on the valence (positive/negative) of the generated events.
Conclusions:
- PTSD is associated with difficulties in constructing specific future events.
- Comorbid depression exacerbates deficits in positive future event generation in PTSD.
- Future event construction characteristics are clinically relevant and vary with event valence in veterans.
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