Jamison,
Andrea (1/08) Primary and complex PTSD symptoms as mediators between trauma
history and schizophrenia symptomatology (Paul Ramirez, Ph.D.; David Castro
Blanco, Ph.D.; Joan Duncan, Ph.D.; Lewis Opler, Ph.D.)
Among individuals with schizophrenia
(SCZ), rates of trauma exposure are elevated and associated with a worsened
course of illness. Research has also demonstrated that posttraumatic stress
disorder (PTSD) is one possible consequence of trauma that is overlooked in the
SCZ population. The current study tested a theoretical model that suggested
that the harmful effects of trauma history on SCZ symptoms are mediated by PTSD
symptoms. Psychiatric inpatients (n = 89) were interviewed regarding their
trauma history, primary and complex PTSD symptoms, and SCZ symptoms. Contrary
to previous research, history of exposure to trauma was not directly related to
more severe SCZ symptoms. However, SCZ symptoms were indirectly affected by
trauma history's relationship to PTSD symptoms; that is to say, trauma history
was related to PTSD symptoms, and PTSD symptoms were related to SCZ symptoms.
These relationships lend partial support to the theoretical model's assertion
that PTSD symptoms are mediators, in that any effect trauma history had on SCZ
symptoms was partially explained by PTSD symptoms. These results highlight the
importance of trauma assessment in a seriously mentally ill population and they
suggest that future studies should look to other factors which may contribute
to the worsened clinical course of SCZ patients with trauma histories.
