Abstract
The present investigation examined the incremental associations between distress tolerance, or the perceived capacity to tolerate emotional distress, and global posttraumatic stress symptom severity as well as symptom cluster severity, beyond the variance accounted for by number of trauma exposure types and negative affectivity. The sample consisted of 140 adults (72 women; M age = 25.9, SD = 11.1) who endorsed exposure to traumatic life events, as defined by posttraumatic stress disorder diagnostic criterion A (American Psychiatric Association 2000). Participants did not meet diagnostic criteria for current axis I psychopathology. Distress tolerance demonstrated significant incremental associations with global posttraumatic stress symptom severity (p < .01) as well as re-experiencing (p < .05), avoidance (p = .05), and hyperarousal (p < .001) symptom cluster severity. Given the cross-sectional study design, causation cannot be inferred. Theoretical implications and future directions for better understanding associations between distress tolerance and posttraumatic stress are discussed.
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Notes
A traumatic event was defined according to DSM-IV-TR PTSD Criterion A. According to Criterion A, a traumatic event is defined as one in which an individual “experienced, witnessed, or was confronted with an event...that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of self or others” and the individual’s response “involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror,” as defined by the DSM-IV-TR Posttraumatic Stress Disorder diagnosis criteria (APA, 2000, p. 467).
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported, in part, by a National Institute on Mental Health National Research Service Award (1 F31 MH080453-01A1) awarded to Erin C. Marshall; a VA Clinical Science Research and Development (CSR&D) Career Development Award—2, awarded to Dr. Bonn-Miller; and several grants (1 R01 DA027533-01; 1 R01 MH076629-01) awarded to Dr. Zvolensky. The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
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Vujanovic, A.A., Bonn-Miller, M.O., Potter, C.M. et al. An Evaluation of the Relation Between Distress Tolerance and Posttraumatic Stress within a Trauma-Exposed Sample. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 33, 129–135 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-010-9209-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-010-9209-2