Catch me if you can: do the five-factor model personality traits moderate dropout and acute treatment response in post-traumatic stress disorder patients?

Incremental Influence of Betrayal Trauma and Personality Traits on PTSD Symptoms

Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are common reactions to trauma. One factor that influences the manifestation of PTSD symptoms is the type of trauma experienced. Traumas perpetrated by someone on whom the trauma survivor trusts and relies on for support (i.e., betrayal traumas) are especially predictive of PTSD symptoms. However, the degree to which this is true differs somewhat across men and women. Another factor that influences PTSD symptoms is personality, which is most often operationalized in terms of discrete personality traits. Among these traits, Neuroticism (the tendency to experience negative affect) is linked to a wide range of psychological dysfunction in general and to PTSD symptoms in particular. However, there is little research on how trauma type and personality differentially influence PTSD symptoms. To address this gap, in this study we examined the incremental effects of traumas with varying degrees of betrayal and personality traits on PTSD symptoms in a sample of college students (N = 276) using a Bayesian approach to multiple regression. Results suggest that Neuroticism and trauma at all levels of betrayal were associated with higher levels of PTSD symptoms, although this differed across sex. These results are consistent with previous research that identifies Neuroticism as a risk factor for a wide range of mental health problems and clarifies earlier findings on betrayal trauma.

Impact of comorbid personality disorders on psychotherapy for post-traumatic stress disorder: systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Although personality disorders are common in PTSD patients, it remains unclear to what extent this comorbidity affects PTSD treatment outcome. Objective: This constitutes the first meta-analysis investigating whether patients with and without comorbid personality disorders can equally benefit from psychotherapy for PTSD. Method: A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, EMBASE, PsychINFO and Cochrane databases from inception through 31 January 2020, to identify clinical trials examining psychotherapies for PTSD in PTSD patients with and without comorbid personality disorders (PROSPERO reference CRD42020156472). Results: Of the 1830 studies identified, 12 studies reporting on 918 patients were included. Effect sizes were synthesized using a random-effects model. Patients with comorbid personality disorders did not have significantly higher baseline PTSD severity (Hedges' g = 0.23, 95%CI -0.09-0.55, p = .140), nor were at higher risk for dropout from PTSD treatment (RR = 1.19, 95%CI 0.83-1.72, p = .297). Whilst pre- to post-treatment PTSD symptom improvements were large in patients with comorbid PDs (Hedges' g = 1.31, 95%CI 0.89-1.74, p < .001) as well as in patients without comorbid PDs (Hedges' g = 1.57, 95%CI 1.08-2.07, p < .001), personality disorders were associated with a significantly smaller symptom improvement at post-treatment (Hedges' g = 0.22, 95%CI 0.05-0.38, p = .010). Conclusion: Although the presence of personality disorders does not preclude a good treatment response, patients with comorbid personality disorders might benefit less from PTSD treatment than patients without comorbid personality disorders.

Personality as predictor of outcome in internet-based treatment of bulimic eating disorders

Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (ICBT) for bulimic eating disorders has demonstrated clinical utility and cost efficiency, but is associated with low patient preference, low credibility, sizeable dropout and only moderate symptom reduction. To improve outcome it is imperative to learn more about who might benefit from internet-based interventions. To do this, the current study investigated the Five Factor Model of personality as predictor of outcome in patients with full or sub-threshold bulimia nervosa (n = 109). Patients in a randomized controlled trial of ICBT were assessed prior to and at the end of treatment. Patients showed significant symptom reduction over time (Cohen's d = 1.0, p < .001). Remission as well as overall symptom reduction was positively predicted by Openness to Experience and Conscientiousness. Binge eating cessation specifically, was positively predicted by Extraversion. The study supports the use of personality assessment for patient selection and outcome optimization in internet-based treatment of bulimic eating disorders.

Patterns of Treatment Disengagement and Personality Traits Associated With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Recent-Era U.S. Veterans Receiving Cognitive Processing Therapy

Low treatment engagement is a barrier to implementation of empirically supported treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among veterans. Understanding personality traits that predict dropout may help focus attempts to improve engagement. The current study included 90 veterans who served in recent conflicts in Iraq and/or Afghanistan and participated in a trial of cognitive processing therapy for PTSD. Goals were to characterize (a) personality correlates of PTSD, (b) patterns of engagement (i.e., attendance and homework completion), and (c) personality correlates of reduced engagement. Higher levels of PTSD symptoms were associated with a range of characteristics, including affective lability, r = .44 p < .001; anxiety, r = .38, p < .001; identity problems, r = .57, p < .001; intimacy problems, r = .34, p = .001; low affiliation, r = .33, p = .002; oppositionality, r = .36, p = .001; restricted expression, r = .35, p = .001; and suspiciousness, r = .50, p < .001. Notably, veterans with worse PTSD symptoms endorsed more cognitive dysregulation, r = .40, p < .001; and less insecure attachment, r = .14, p = .190, than expected. Only 52.2% of veterans completed the 12-session course of treatment and 31.0% of participants completed fewer than six sessions. Personality traits did not predict attendance or homework completion. Disengagement continues to be a significant issue in trauma-focused treatment for veterans with PTSD. Understanding veteran-level factors, such as personality traits, may be useful considerations for future research seeking to understand and improve engagement.

Anxiety Disorders and Temperament-an Update Review

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The review focused on associations between temperament dimensions and clinical features in different anxiety disorders, likewise in obsessive-compulsive disorder in clinical samples of adults. A literature search was conducted in the Medline and PsycINFO databases covering the years 2010-2016. A systematic review and grading of the level of evidence for an association between temperament dimension scores and clinical features in each disorder were performed.

RECENT FINDINGS

Twenty papers reporting 18 different studies were included. Five of the papers focused on panic disorder (PD), five on social anxiety disorder (SAD), three on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), one on generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), three on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and an additional three papers on several anxiety disorders. The review consolidates the finding that trait anxiety, especially as assessed by Cloninger's model or the five-factor model, is a phenomenon common to all anxiety disorders and OCD. More follow-up studies including large samples are needed to differentiate the dimensional profiles of trait anxiety in specific disorders.

Predicting trauma-focused treatment outcome in psychosis

OBJECTIVE

Although TF treatments are effective in patients with psychosis, it is unknown whether specific psychosis-related obstacles limit the effects, and what determines good outcome.

METHODS

Baseline posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity and seven psychosis-specific variables were tested as predictors in patients with a psychotic disorder and PTSD (n=108), who received eight sessions of TF treatment (Prolonged Exposure, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy) in a single-blind randomized controlled trial. Multiple regression analyses were performed.

RESULTS

Baseline PTSD symptom severity was significantly associated with posttreatment PTSD symptom severity, explaining 11.4% of the variance. Additionally, more severe PTSD at baseline was also significantly associated with greater PTSD symptom improvement during treatment. After correction for baseline PTSD symptom severity, the model with the seven baseline variables did not significantly explain the variance in posttreatment PTSD outcome. Within this non-significant model, the presence of auditory verbal hallucinations contributed uniquely to posttreatment outcome but explained little variance (5.4%). Treatment completers and dropouts showed no significant difference on any of the psychosis-related variables.

CONCLUSIONS

Given the low predictive utility of baseline psychosis-related factors, we conclude that there is no evidence-based reason to exclude patients with psychotic disorders from TF treatments. Also, we speculate that patients with psychosis and severe baseline PTSD might derive more benefit if given more than eight sessions. Trial registration current controlled-trials.com | Identifier: ISRCTN79584912 | http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN79584912.

Predicting Dropout from Intensive Outpatient Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Binge Eating Disorder Using Pre-treatment Characteristics: A Naturalistic Study

BACKGROUND

Dropout rates in binge eating disorder (BED) treatment are high (17-30%), and predictors of dropout are unknown.

METHOD

Participants were 376 patients following an intensive outpatient cognitive behavioural therapy programme for BED, 82 of whom (21.8%) dropped out of treatment. An exploratory logistic regression was performed using eating disorder variables, general psychopathology, personality and demographics to identify predictors of dropout.

RESULTS

Binge eating pathology, preoccupations with eating, shape and weight, social adjustment, agreeableness, and social embedding appeared to be significant predictors of dropout. Also, education showed an association to dropout.

DISCUSSION

This is one of the first studies investigating pre-treatment predictors for dropout in BED treatment. The total explained variance of the prediction model was low, yet the model correctly classified 80.6% of cases, which is comparable to other dropout studies in eating disorders. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.

Predicting symptoms in major depression after inpatient treatment: the role of alexithymia

Alexithymia has been considered to have a negative influence on the course of symptoms in various psychiatric disorders. Only a few studies of depressed patients have examined whether alexithymia predicts the outcome of therapeutic interventions or the course of symptoms in naturalistic settings. This prospective study investigated whether alexithymia is associated with depressive symptoms after a multimodal inpatient treatment. Forty-five inpatients suffering from acute major depression were examined in the initial phase of treatment and then again after seven weeks. Patients took part in a multimodal treatment programme comprising psychodynamic-interactional oriented individual and group therapy. The majority of patients were taking antidepressants during study participation. To assess alexithymia and depressive symptoms, the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) and the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) were administered at baseline and follow-up. When controlling for baseline depressive symptoms along with trait anxiety, high scores in the externally oriented thinking (EOT) facet of alexithymia at baseline predicted high severity of depressive symptoms at follow-up (for self-reported as well as interviewer-based scores). Inpatients suffering from major depression with a more pronounced external cognitive style might benefit less from a routine multimodal treatment approach (including psychodynamic interactional therapy, antidepressant medication, and complementary therapies). Intervention programmes might modify or account for alexithymic characteristics to improve the course of depressive symptoms in these patients.

Implementation of cognitive therapy for PTSD in routine clinical care: effectiveness and moderators of outcome in a consecutive sample

Objective

Trauma-focused psychological treatments are recommended as first-line treatments for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), but clinicians may be concerned that the good outcomes observed in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) may not generalize to the wide range of traumas and presentations seen in clinical practice. This study investigated whether Cognitive Therapy for PTSD (CT-PTSD) can be effectively implemented into a UK National Health Service Outpatient Clinic serving a defined ethnically mixed urban catchment area.

Method

A consecutive sample of 330 patients with PTSD (age 17–83) following a wide range of traumas were treated by 34 therapists, who received training and supervision in CT-PTSD. Pre and post treatment data (PTSD symptoms, anxiety, depression) were collected for all patients, including dropouts. Hierarchical linear modeling investigated candidate moderators of outcome and therapist effects.

Results

CT-PTSD was well tolerated and led to very large improvement in PTSD symptoms, depression and anxiety. The majority of patients showed reliable improvement/clinically significant change: intent-to-treat: 78.8%/57.3%; completer: 84.5%/65.1%. Dropouts and unreliable attenders had worse outcome. Statistically reliable symptom exacerbation with treatment was observed in only 1.2% of patients. Treatment gains were maintained during follow-up (M = 280 days, n = 220). Few of the selection criteria used in some RCTs, demographic, diagnostic and trauma characteristics moderated treatment outcome, and only social problems and needing treatment for multiple traumas showed unique moderation effects. There were no random effects of therapist on symptom improvement, but therapists who were inexperienced in CT-PTSD had more dropouts than those with greater experience.

Conclusions

The results support the effectiveness of CT-PTSD and suggest that trauma-focused cognitive behavior therapy can be successfully implemented in routine clinical services treating patients with a wide range of traumas.

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Cognitive Therapy for PTSD can be effectively implemented in routine clinical care.

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The intent-to-treat analysis showed very large treatment effects.

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Patients found the treatment acceptable, and the majority showed clinically significant change.

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Few patient characteristics moderated treatment outcome.

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Inexperienced therapists had more dropouts.

Writing therapy for posttraumatic stress: a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Face-to-face psychological treatments have difficulty meeting today's growing mental health needs. For the highly prevalent posttraumatic stress (PTS) conditions, accumulating evidence suggests that writing therapy may constitute an efficient treatment modality, especially when administered through the Internet. We therefore conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the efficacy of writing therapies for PTS and comorbid depressive symptoms.

METHODS

The literature was searched using several structured and unstructured strategies, including key word searches of the PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, and PILOTS databases. Six studies met eligibility criteria and were included in the analyses. These studies included a total of 633 participants, of which 304 were assigned to writing therapy.

RESULTS

Across 5 direct comparisons of writing therapy to waiting-list control, writing therapy resulted in significant and substantial short-term reductions in PTS and comorbid depressive symptoms. There was no difference in efficacy between writing therapy and trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, but we caution that this finding was based on only 2 direct comparisons.

CONCLUSIONS

Writing therapy is an evidence-based treatment for PTS, and constitutes a useful treatment alternative for patients who do not respond to other evidence-based treatments. Internet adaptations of writing therapy for PTS may be especially useful for reaching trauma survivors in need of evidence-based mental health care who live in remote areas or who prefer to retain their anonymity.