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Spiritual Wellbeing Mediates PTSD Change in Veterans with Military-Related PTSD

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International Journal of Behavioral Medicine Aims and scope Submit manuscript

An Erratum to this article was published on 21 December 2011

Abstract

Background

A portable practice of repeating a mantram—a sacred word or phrase—has been shown to reduce the severity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in veterans with military trauma. It is thought that the intervention re-directs attention and initiates relaxation to decrease symptom severity, but there may be other mechanisms that may contribute to this improvement.

Purpose

We tested the hypothesis that increases in existential spiritual wellbeing (ESWB) would mediate reductions in self-reported PTSD symptoms following a group mantram intervention.

Method

Veterans diagnosed with PTSD from war-related trauma completed 6 weeks of case management plus a group mantram intervention (n = 66) as part of a randomized trial. Measures included PTSD Checklist (PCL) and Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy–Spiritual Wellbeing. Path analysis was conducted on those who completed treatment to assess ESWB as a possible mediator of change in PCL from baseline to post-treatment.

Results

A significant indirect effect, −2.24, 95% CI (−4.17, −1.05) of the mantram intervention on PCL change was found. The path from the mantram intervention to ESWB change was significant and positive (B = 4.89, p < 0.0001), and the path from ESWB change to PCL change was significant and negative (B = −0.46, p = 0.001), thus supporting the hypothesis.

Conclusions

Findings suggest that one contributing mechanism that partially explains how the mantram intervention reduces PTSD symptom severity in veterans may be by increasing levels of ESWB.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the US Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Research and Development, Health Services Research and Development, Nursing Research Initiative (NRI) #04-041. Dr. Thorp is supported by a VA Career Development Award. We wish to thank Madeline Gershwin, MA, RN, and Ann Kelly, MSN, APRN, BC, who facilitated the intervention; Patricia Bone, BS, RN, Wendy Belding, MA, and Robert West for study implementation; Sheryl Becker, RN, MS, and Laureen Pada, RN, MS/MBA, for quality control. The views in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States Government.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health (CESAMH), Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System (VASDHS), 3350 La Jolla Village Drive (111N-1), San Diego, CA, 92161, USA

    Jill E. Bormann, Steven R. Thorp & Ariel J. Lang

  2. School of Nursing, College of Health and Human Services, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA

    Jill E. Bormann

  3. Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA

    Lin Liu

  4. Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA

    Steven R. Thorp & Ariel J. Lang

  5. Department of Nursing and Patient Care Services, VA San Diego Healthcare System, 3350 La Jolla Village Drive (111N-1), San Diego, CA, 92161, USA

    Jill E. Bormann

Authors
  1. Jill E. Bormann
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  2. Lin Liu
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  3. Steven R. Thorp
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  4. Ariel J. Lang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jill E. Bormann.

Additional information

This study was presented as a rapid communications poster at the 2010 International Congress of Behavioral Medicine meeting on August 5, 2010, in Washington, DC.

An erratum to this article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12529-011-9212-3.

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Bormann, J.E., Liu, L., Thorp, S.R. et al. Spiritual Wellbeing Mediates PTSD Change in Veterans with Military-Related PTSD. Int.J. Behav. Med. 19, 496–502 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-011-9186-1

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