ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY

POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER AND

ACUTE STRESS DISORDER
PSY221 | FIRST TERM
IRISH FRANCYN LABAO

○ Childhood exposure to trauma

PTSD CLINICAL DESCRIPTION
○ Tendencies to attend selectively to cues of threat
● Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) entails an extreme
response to a severe stressor, including increased anxiety, ○ Neuroticism and negative affectivity
avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma, and
symptoms of increased arousal. ○ Two-factor of conditioning

○ Diagnosis of these disorders are considered only in ● Traumas caused by humans are more likely to cause PTSD
the context of serious traumas than are natural disasters

○ The symptoms for PTSD are grouped into four major
categories:
➔ Intrusively re experiencing the traumatic
event
➔ Avoidance of stimuli associated with the
event
➔ Other signs of mood and cognitive change
after the trauma
➔ Symptoms of increased arousal and
reactivity
ASD CLINICAL DESCRIPTION
● Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) is diagnosed when symptoms
occur between 3 days and 1 month after a trauma
● People who have symptoms of dissociation during and
immediately after the trauma are more likely to develop PTSD
● Coping and resilience
TREATMENT OF PTSD AND ASD
MEDICATIONS
● The selective serotonergic reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs),
has received strong support as a treatment for PTSD
● Relapse is common if medications are discontinued
PSYCHOLOGICAL TREATMENT

○ The symptoms of ASD are fairly similar to those of ● Imaginal Exposure

PTSD, but the duration is shorter
○ The focus of exposure treatment is on memories
and reminders of the original trauma, with the
person being encouraged to confront the trauma to
gain mastery and extinguish the anxiety

● Cognitive Strategies

○ Designed to help victims of rape and childhood

sexual abuse dispute tendencies toward self-blame

○ Bolster people’s beliefs in their ability to cope with

the initial trauma
EPIDEMIOLOGY AND COMORBIDITY

● Among people exposed to a trauma, women are twice as

likely to develop PTSD as are men

● Among people who had developed PTSD by age 26, almost

all (93%) had been diagnosed with another psychological
disorder:
➔ Anxiety disorder
➔ Major depression
➔ Substance abuse
➔ Conduct disorder

ETIOLOGY

● PTSD appears related to genetic risk for anxiety disorders:

○ High levels of activity in areas of the fear circuit such

as the amygdala, diminished activation of the medial
prefrontal cortex, and smaller volume of
Hippocampus