Psychological correlates of PTSD symptoms following stroke

Abstract

This study assessed associations between a number of demographic, medical and psychological risk factors and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms following stroke. Individuals (N = 102) who had experienced a stroke within the previous year participated in the study. Participants completed questionnaires containing measures of PTSD symptoms and a range of psychological risk factors (i.e., anxiety, depression, negative affect, dissociation, cognitive appraisals). Regression analyses revealed the variables under consideration were able to explain large proportions of the variance in the number (R ² = .54, p < 0.001) and severity (R ² = .58, p < 0.001) of PTSD symptoms. Number of strokes, negative affect and cognitive appraisals emerged as significant predictors of both the number and severity of PTSD symptoms. The present findings suggest that a significant proportion of stroke patients may benefit from the detection and treatment of PTSD symptoms.

Keywords:

• Stroke
• post-traumatic stress disorder
• anxiety
• depression
• cognitive appraisals