https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3028-0248
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ABSTRACT
Background: The death of a child is a highly traumatic event for parents and often leads to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Attentional bias has been demonstrated in the onset and maintenance of PTSD symptoms.
Objective: This study aimed to investigate the time course of attentional bias among bereaved Chinese parents who have lost their only child (Shidu parents), and to examine its relationship with PTSD symptoms and symptom clusters.
Methods: Shidu parents (n = 38; 50–72 years of age) completed a dot-probe task with negative (trauma-related), positive, and neutral images at four stimulus presentation times (250, 500, 750, and 1250 ms). PTSD symptoms were measured by the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5).
Results: We observed difficulty in disengaging from both negative and positive stimuli at 750 ms and attentional bias away from negative stimuli at 1250 ms. At 1250 ms, attentional avoidance of trauma-related stimuli was positively correlated with PCL-5 total and intrusion scores. Difficulty in disengaging from positive stimuli was negatively correlated with PCL-5 total and intrusion scores as well as negative alterations in cogniti and mood scores.
Conclusions: These findings enhance our understanding of attentional bias and cognitive–affective processing in PTSD. This study provides evidence that attentional bias (difficulty in disengaging from positive stimuli and bias away from negative stimuli) are correlated with PTSD symptoms and certain symptom clusters.
HIGHLIGHTS
The current study examined the time course of attentional bias among bereaved Chinese parents who have lost their only child through a dot-probe task and investigated its relationship with PTSD symptoms and symptom clusters.
Participants exhibited difficulty in disengaging from both trauma-related and positive stimuli at 750 ms and exhibited attentional avoidance of trauma-related stimuli at 1250 ms.
Attentional avoidance of trauma-related stimuli was positively correlated with PCL-5 total and intrusion scores. Difficulty in disengaging from positive stimuli was negatively correlated with PCL-5 total and intrusion scores as well as negative alterations in cognition and mood scores.
Antecedentes: La muerte de un hijo es un evento altamente traumático para padres y a menudo lleva a trastorno de estrés postraumático (TEPT). El sesgo atencional se ha demostrado en el comienzo y en la mantención de los síntomas del TEPT.
Objetivo: Este estudio buscó investigar el curso del tiempo del sesgo atencional entre los padres chinos en duelo que han perdido a su único hijo (padres Shidu), y examinar su relación con los síntomas de TEPT y los grupos sintomáticos.
Método: Padres Shidu (n = 38, 50–72 años de edad) completaron una prueba de dot-probe con imágenes negativas (relacionadas al trauma), positivas, y neutrales en cuatro momentos de presentación del estímulo (250, 500, 750, y 1250 ms). Los síntomas del TEPT se midieron por medio de la Lista de Chequeo del TEPT para el DSM-5 (PCL-5 en su sigla en inglés).
Resultados: Observamos dificultades en desvincularse de los estímulos negativos y positivos desde los 750 ms y desaparición del sesgo atencional desde el estímulo a 1250 ms. A los 1250 ms, la evitación atencional del estímulo negativo se correlacionó positivamente con los puntajes totales de la PCL-5 y puntajes de intrusión. Las dificultades en desvincularse desde el estímulo positivo se asociaron negativamente con los puntajes totales de la PCL-5 y los puntajes de intrusión como también con la puntuación de alteraciones negativas de cognición y ánimo.
Conclusiones: Estos hallazgos mejoran nuestro entendimiento del sesgo atencional y procesamiento cognitivo-afectivo en el TEPT. Este estudio provee evidencia que el sesgo atencional (dificultades en desvincularse desde un estímulo positivo y sesgo distanciándose desde el estímulo negativo) se correlacionan con los síntomas de TEPT y algunos grupos de síntomas.
背景：子女的死亡对父母来说是最严重的创伤事件，往往导致创伤后应激障碍(PTSD)。对情绪刺激的注意偏向被认为是PTSD患者典型的认知特点，也是引发和维持PTSD的重要认知因素。
目的：本文旨在探讨失独父母注意偏向的时程特征，并探索其与PTSD症状之间的关系。
方法：以38名失独父母(50–72岁)为研究对象，以负性(创伤相关)、正性和中性图片为实验刺激材料，让被试在四种刺激呈现时间(250、500、750和1250 ms)下完成点探测任务来测量注意偏向。采用创伤后应激障碍检查表第5版(PCL-5)测量PTSD症状。
结果：当图片呈现时间为750 ms时，被试对负性和正性图片存在注意解除困难；当图片呈现时间为1250 ms时，被试只对负性图片存在注意回避；当图片呈现时间为1250 ms时，对负性图片的注意回避与PTSD总分和闯入维度的分数之间存在正向关联，对正性图片的注意解除困难与PTSD总分、闯入和认知和情绪负性改变维度的分数之间存在负向关联。
结论：本研究扩展了在创伤领域中我们对注意偏向模式以及认知和情感过程关系的理解，并提供了注意偏向(注意解除困难和注意回避)与PTSD症状相关的证据。
Acknowledgements
We extend our sincere thanks to all participants and organizations that supported this research. Furthermore, we are grateful for the assistance of Xuanang Liu and Fei Xiao in the acquisition of experimental materials as well as the assistance of Xuezhen Wang and Mengya Li in data collection.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Data availability statement
Due to considerations regarding participant privacy, the data that support the findings of this study are available only from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.