PTSD Overview Quiz

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Overview

• PTSD is characterized by changes in cognition and mood, including inability to remember aspects of the traumatic event, persistent distorted cognitions, negative emotional state, and detachment from others.
• Changes in arousal and reactivity in PTSD can manifest as irritability, reckless behavior, hypervigilance, exaggerated startle response, concentration problems, and sleep disturbances.
• PTSD affects 7-9% of the general population, with higher prevalence (60-80%) among trauma victims and specific groups such as combat veterans and sexual assault victims.
• Comorbidities with PTSD include depression, other anxiety disorders, substance use disorders, somatization, and dissociative disorders.
• Acute Stress Disorder, similar to PTSD, occurs with a presence of >9 of 5 categories of symptoms and lasts from 3 days to 1 month after trauma, causing significant impairment.
• Critics argue that PTSD definition overlooks the individual's variability in response to trauma, focusing solely on the event itself.
• Risk factors for developing PTSD include genetic predisposition, neurological vulnerabilities, developmental factors, psychological vulnerabilities, peritraumatic dissociation, cognitive appraisal, and biological reactions.
• Genetic predisposition to PTSD is supported by a twin study of Vietnam veterans showing a heritability of .40 and neurological vulnerabilities such as low cortisol levels and altered brain activity.
• Developmental risk factors for PTSD include stress sensitization, attachment styles, childhood adversity, and history of psychiatric illness.
• Psychological vulnerabilities, such as lack of social support and external locus of control, as well as cognitive vulnerabilities, like negative attributional style and cognitive schemas, contribute to PTSD risk.
• During trauma, risk factors include peritraumatic dissociation, altered cognitive appraisal, and biological reactions leading to HPA axis deregulation and shattered assumptions about the world's safety.
• Post-trauma risk factors for PTSD include lack of social support, maladaptive coping strategies, and the presence of anger, shame, rumination, and negative appraisals of the event.

Test your knowledge of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) with this comprehensive overview quiz. Explore the key symptoms, prevalence, comorbidities, risk factors, and criticisms associated with PTSD, as well as the similarities and differences with Acute Stress Disorder. Gain insight into the complexities of PTSD and its impact on individuals.