Heterogeneity of posttraumatic stress symptomatology and social connectedness in treatment-seeking military veterans: a longitudinal examination

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographic and clinical characteristics.

Variable	M (SD) or N (%)
Age	49.26 (14.07)
Male	1453 (94.2%)
Combat veteran	1284 (83.7%)
White race	816 (52.9%)
War era
Iraq and Afghanistan	638 (41.4%)
Vietnam	565 (36.6%)
Persian Gulf	350 (22.7%)
Between Vietnam and Persian Gulf	265 (17.2%)
Korean War	4 (0.3%)
Between Korea and Vietnam	3 (0.2%)
Married	701 (45.5%)
Currently unemployed	1321 (85.7%)
T1 PCL ≥ 50	1456 (94.4%)
T2 PCL ≥ 50	1188 (77.0%)
T1 ≤ 15 days of contact with loved ones in past month	905 (58.7%)
T2 ≤ 15 days of contact with loved ones in past month	822 (53.3%)
T1 moderate to severe conflict-related distress	975 (63.2%)
T2 moderate to severe conflict-related distress	879 (57.0%)
Substance use disorder	714 (46.5%)
Days of residential treatment delivered	48.50 (20.81)
Treatments most frequently engaged in
Seeking Safety	1258 (81.6%)
Pharmacotherapy	1236 (80.2%)
Cognitive behavior therapy	1031 (66.9%)
Cognitive Processing Therapy	952 (61.7%)
Treatment completion	1334 (86.5%)

Note. War era categories not mutually exclusive. PCL = PTSD Checklist. T1 = baseline. T2 = 4 months post-discharge.

Table 2. Assessment of model fit.

Model	Number of Parameters	χ^2	df	CFI	RMSEA
Baseline CFA	61	622.01	109	.93	.055
Follow-up CFA	61	448.75	109	.97	.045
SEM model with covariates	286	2146.56	797	.95	.033
SEM model with non-significant covariates removed	222	2192.54	823	.95	.033
Item level path analysis	1006	132.67	77	.998	.022

Note. CFA = confirmatory factor analysis. SEM = structural equation modelling.

Table 3. Cross-lagged model cross-sectional associations.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
1. Re-experiencing	-	.30**	.16**	.33**	.29**	.19**	−.05*
2. Avoidance	.49**	-	.17**	.28**	.24**	.17**	−.04
3. Emotional numbing	.28**	.31**	-	.22**	.17**	.17**	−.08**
4. Dysphoric arousal	.39**	.41**	.26**	-	.35**	.37**	−.07*
5. Anxious arousal	.49**	.55**	.31**	.46**	-	.19**	−.01
6. Conflict-related distress	.34**	.33**	.25**	.38**	.38**	-	−.12*
7. Days of contact (past mo.)	−.19**	−.17**	−.14**	−.18**	−.18**	−.20**	-

Cross-sectional associations for baseline data are above the diagonal and associations for follow-up data are below the diagonal. ** p < .001, * p < .05

Figure 1. Cross-lagged path model for PTSD five-factor model symptom clusters (PCL; Weathers et al., 1993) and social connectedness (BAM; Cacciola et al., 2013). Coefficients are standardized. T1 = Time 1, Baseline. T2 = Time 2, 4 months post-discharge. Only statistically significant cross-lagged paths are presented. *p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001. Solid lines denote positive prospective paths. Dashed lines denote negative prospective paths. Autoregressive pathways coefficient range = 0.25–0.48, all p’s < .001 (see SI Table 1). Symptom-level analyses are presented in SI Tables 4–5.

Weathers, F., Litz, B., Herman, D., Huska, J., & Keane, T. (October 1993). The PTSD checklist (PCL): Reliability, validity, and diagnostic utility. Paper presented at the Annual Convention of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, San Antonio, TX.

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Cacciola, J. S., Alterman, A. I., DePhilippis, D., Drapkin, M. L., Valadez, C., Fala, N. C., … McKay, J. R. (2013). Development and initial evaluation of the Brief Addiction Monitor (BAM). Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 44, 256–263.

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