The authors examined the effects of lifetime trauma exposure on salivary cortisol and mood in a sample of women (N = 37) over 25 days before and after a stressful event. The sample excluded posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depression and was divided into three groups: (a) no trauma, (b) prior trauma with no peritraumatic symptoms of acute distress, and (c) prior trauma with peritr...

BACKGROUND Decreased activation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in response to stress is suspected to be a vulnerability factor for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Previous studies showed inconsistent findings regarding the role of cortisol in predicting PTSD. In addition, no prospective studies have examined the role of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), or its sulfate form ...

BACKGROUND Studies in developed countries indicate that psychotic-like symptoms are prevalent in the community and are related to trauma exposure and PTSD. No comparable studies have been undertaken in low-income, post-conflict countries. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of psychotic-like symptoms in conflict-affected Timor Leste and to examine whether symptoms were associated with tra...

Multiple trauma exposures during childhood are associated with a range of psychological symptoms later in life. In this study, we examined whether the total number of different types of trauma experienced by children (cumulative trauma) is associated with the complexity of their subsequent symptomatology, where complexity is defined as the number of different symptom clusters simultaneously ele...

BACKGROUND The Quebec Task Force on Whiplash-Associated Disorders urged for controlled, prognostic studies of symptoms after whiplash trauma. The authors conducted a study that met the design requirements to enhance knowledge about short-term and long-term temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain, dysfunction or both induced by whiplash trauma. METHODS The authors studied 60 consecutive patients wh...

BACKGROUND Those injured in accidents commonly have strong emotional reactions to their situation. However, despite the large number of patients who are admitted to general hospitals each year for orthopedic injuries due to an accident, research focusing on psychological disorders due to these injuries is lacking. OBJECTIVE To investigate the presentation and factors related to depression and...

Dissociation is postulated to occur as a function of particular types of child abuse or chronic abuse. Additionally, there is an ongoing controversy examining the perpetrator's relationship to the victim in the development of dissociation. In this study, reports of traumatic events experienced both in the family environment and in the community were used to examine the relationship between diss...

The present study aimed to assess the relative contribution of memory disorganization and beliefs about trauma memory in the prediction of posttraumatic stress symptoms. A sample of 95 student nurses and midwives narrated their memory of the most distressing placement related event they had experienced. Several questionnaires were administered, including the Beliefs about Memory Questionnaire (...

This study investigated the association of trauma symptoms and hypnotizability in 43 hospitalized survivors of burn injury. Three to 17 days after the injury, participants rated the frequency of intrusive and avoidance symptoms and were interviewed with the posttraumatic stress disorder module of the Structured Clinical Interview for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-III...