PTSD Symptoms and Attachment Styles in World Trade Center Responders and Survivors: A Symptomics Approach

Details

• Personal Author:
  Brinkman H ; Feder A ; Kowalchyk M ; Pietrzak R ; Schechter C ; Tannenbaum M ; Torres D ; Zarcone M
• Description:
  Background: Genetic epidemiologic studies suggest that attachment style may moderate genetic vulnerability to developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Living with PTSD symptoms is, in turn, associated with interpersonal difficulties, which often contribute to the chronicity of this disorder and negatively affect treatment outcomes. In the current study, we employed a novel 'symptomics' approach to identifying how individual PTSD symptoms related to attachment styles in World Trade Center (WTC) responders and survivors with PTSD participating in an ongoing trial of two web-based psychotherapies. Methods: Data were analyzed from 86 treatment-seeking WTC responders and survivors with full or subthreshold PTSD. WTC-related PTSD symptoms were assessed using the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 and attachment style using the Relationship Questionnaire (RQ). Relative importance analyses were conducted to compute the relative importance of each DSM-5 PTSD symptom in predicting attachment styles. Results: Lower physical reactivity to trauma reminders (relative variance explained [RVE]=17.0%) and sleep difficulties (15.1%) were most strongly related to a secure attachment style; greater feelings of isolation from others (15.1%) and physical reactivity to trauma (13.4%) to a fearful/avoidant style; greater concentration difficulties (13.9%) and feelings of isolation from others (11.2%) to an anxious/preoccupied style; and greater hypervigilance (21.9%) and avoidance of trauma-related thoughts/feelings (11.1%) to an avoidant/dismissive style. Conclusions: Individual PTSD symptoms were differentially associated with attachment styles in treatment-seeking WTC responders and survivors. A 'symptomics' approach to elucidating how PTSD symptoms contribute to attachment styles may help inform the personalization of PTSD treatments to address interpersonal difficulties in trauma survivors. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Emergency Responders Epidemiology Genetics Occupational Health Safety September 11 Terrorist Attacks Sleep Sleep Initiation And Maintenance Disorders Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic Surveys And Questionnaires
• Keywords:
  Attachment Style Author Keywords: PTSD Emergency Responders First Responders Post-traumatic Stress Disorder PTSD Questionnaires Sleep Disorders Stress Symptomics Traumatic Incident Stress World Trade Center World Trade Center Responders WTC

  More +
• ISSN:
  0006-3223
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Connecticut ; New York ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 2
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  87
• Issue:
  9
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20066118
• Citation:
  Biol Psychiatry 2020 May; 87(9)(Suppl 1):S317-S318
• Contact Point Address:
  Danielle Torres, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2020
• Performing Organization:
  Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20160901
• Source Full Name:
  Biological Psychiatry
• Supplement:
  1
• End Date:
  20190831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:4610fbfea4854cb408c0e8bb92c4ae8d99cc64f7f3b5d81b6165576ea6d351285b5911fa9bf0345aab4cf44cdbb6488995086056f0132a4acc24551ca4fb0a88
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/212631/cdc_212631_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 66.67 KB ]