Do positive memory characteristics influence daily-level trajectories of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms? an exploratory daily diary study

ABSTRACT

Background and Objectives

Evidence links posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with positive memory characteristics. To extend this research, we utilized daily diary data to examine (1) concurrent/lagged associations between daily PTSD symptom severity and positive memory vividness/accessibility; and (2) associations between baseline-assessed positive memory characteristics and changes in PTSD symptom severity over time.

Design and Methods

A sample of 238 trauma-exposed participants (M_age= 21.19 years; 86% women) completed baseline and 10 daily measures of PTSD symptoms and positive memory characteristics. Multilevel models covaried for gender, number of trauma types, and number of completed surveys.

Results

Days with greater PTSD symptom severity than an individual’s average associated with less vividness (b = −0.02, p < .001) and accessibility (b = −0.02, p < .001) of the positive memory on the same day. Days with greater positive memory vividness (b = −1.06, p < .001) and accessibility (b = −0.93, p < .001) than an individual’s average associated with less PTSD symptom severity on the same day. There were no significant lagged associations between these constructs. There were significant interactions between baseline-assessed psychological distance and time (b = −0.04, p  = .042) and between baseline-assessed visual perspective and time (b = 0.05, p = .023) on PTSD symptom severity across days.

Conclusions

Findings inform positive memory intervention targets for PTSD and provide impetus for longitudinal investigations on their inter-relations.

KEYWORDS:

• Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms
• positive memory characteristics
• daily diary
• multilevel models
• trauma-exposed students

Acknowledgement

We acknowledge the contributions by Dr. Stephanie Caldas, Ms. Fallon Keegan, and Ms. Svetlana Goncharenko towards data collection and management. We acknowledge statistical feedback provided by Dr. Daniel Lee on the initial drafts of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, AAC, upon reasonable request.

Funding details statement

This work was supported, in part, by National Institute on Drug Abuse Grant K23 DA039327, awarded to author NHW. NHW also acknowledges the support from the Center for Biomedical Research and Excellence (COBRE) on Opioids and Overdose funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (P20 GM125507).