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Relationships Among Trauma Exposure, Chronic Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms, and Self-Reported Health in Women: Replication and Extension

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Journal of Traumatic Stress

Abstract

Fifty-two women who served during the Vietnam era were assessed for war-zone exposure, traumatic life events, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and self-reported health status. Symptoms of PTSD were examined as mediators in the relationship between traumatic exposure and subsequent reports of health problems. Results showed that PTSD symptoms accounted significantly for variance in health problems reported by women with prior traumatic stressor exposure. When the cardinal symptom domains of PTSD (reexperiencing, numbing, avoidance, hyperarousal) were analyzed separately, the symptom cluster representing hyperarousal accounted uniquely for the variance associated with health complaints, beyond that contributed by other symptom clusters. Discussion of the results focuses on mechanisms underlying the relationship between specific symptoms of PTSD and self-reported health. Implications for intervention within the medical system are also considered.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine, USA

    Rachel Kimerling

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, USA

    Gretchen A. Clum

  3. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, USA

    Jessica Wolfe

  4. National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Women's Health Sciences Division, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 116B-3, 150 South Huntington Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts, 02130

    Jessica Wolfe

Authors
  1. Rachel Kimerling
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  2. Gretchen A. Clum
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  3. Jessica Wolfe
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Kimerling, R., Clum, G.A. & Wolfe, J. Relationships Among Trauma Exposure, Chronic Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms, and Self-Reported Health in Women: Replication and Extension. J Trauma Stress 13, 115–128 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007729116133

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