The Effect of Cognitive-Affective Factors on PTSD and Alcohol Use Symptoms: An Investigation on Rumination, Suppression, and Reappraisal

• Main Author: Christ, Nicole M
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01-01-2021
• Subjects: Psychology
• ISBN: 9798426837294

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) are mental health conditions that often co-occur. The complexity of this comorbidity is well documented, often resulting in a more difficult clinical course, poorer treatment outcomes, and more severe physical and social health consequences overall when compared to either disorder alone (McCauley et al., 2012; Stewart, 1996). These problems underscore the importance in attaining a more comprehensive understanding of the role of malleable cognitive-affective factors in PTSD/AUD in order to structure evidence-based interventions to include specific additional treatment targets. Extant examinations of cognitive-affective factors that impact emotion regulation highlight unique associations of reappraisal, suppression, and rumination in anxiety and mood disorders (Aldao et al., 2010; Aldao & Nolen-Hoeksema, 2010) and are strongly associated with PTSD. We examined the differential effects of these factors in trauma- exposed individuals by first empirically examining latent subgroups of PTSD/AUD in trauma-exposed individuals, then modeling these cognitive-affective factors to elucidate their role in specific profile patterns of PTSD/AUD symptom typologies. Our results support a four-class model of PTSD/AUD symptoms, with unique predictive effects of expressive suppression, problem-focused thoughts, repetitive thoughts, and anticipatory thoughts on latent class status. We discuss acceptance-based intervention techniques to reduce these cognitive-affective patterns, and how they may be incorporated to augment current empirically-supported interventions for PTSD/AUD.