Late-Life Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and the Holocaust: A Son's Story

PsycCRITIQUES ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Russell Searight
2006 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Leys

ArgumentIn 1980, when the diagnosis of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was introduced into the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III), survivor guilt – a symptom long associated with trauma of the Holocaust and other extreme experiences – was included in the list of symptom criteria. But in the revised edition of the manual of 1987 (DSM-IIIR), survivor guilt was demoted to the status of merely an “associated feature” of the condition. Now that survivor guilt has disappeared from the official lexicon of trauma, shame has come to take its place as the emotion that most defines the traumatic state. This paper examines the rationale for the shift from survivor guilt to shame in the context of the American Psychiatric Association's revisions. It argues that the shift can be understood as yet another manifestation of the oscillation between mimetic and antimimetic theories of trauma that, I have argued in my book Trauma: A Genealogy (2000), has structured the understanding of trauma from the start.


2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara C. Schroeder ◽  
Ronald M. Ruff ◽  
Lutz Jäncke

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on (a) neuropsychological test performance and (b) self-reported emotional complaints within individuals suffering from postconcussional disorder (PCD) after a mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI). A two-group comparative research design was employed. Two MTBI samples with and without PTSD were assessed with a neuropsychological test battery and the Ruff Neurobehavioral Inventory (RNBI). On the neurocognitive test performances no significant between group differences were found, but the MTBI group with PTSD endorsed a significantly greater number of emotional complaints, especially in the RNBI subscales of anxiety and depression. The patients with PTSD also endorsed a significantly greater number of premorbid sequelae in the RNBI emotional composite scale as well as the RNBI premorbid subscales of pain, anxiety and abuse. In sum, PTSD has a negative impact on emotional but not cognitive functioning within individuals suffering from PCD after a mild TBI.


2009 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lena Schirmer ◽  
Anja Mehnert ◽  
Angela Scherwath ◽  
Barbara Schleimer ◽  
Frank Schulz-Kindermann ◽  
...  

Die in mehreren Studien gefundenen kognitiven Störungen bei Tumorpatienten nach Chemotherapie werden zumeist mit der Zytostatikaneurotoxizität assoziiert. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird der Zusammenhang von Angst, Depression und Posttraumatischer Belastungsstörung mit der kognitiven Leistungsfähigkeit bei Frauen mit Mammakarzinom untersucht. Insgesamt wurden 76 Brustkrebspatientinnen fünf Jahre nach Abschluss der onkologischen Behandlung mit neuropsychologischen Testverfahren sowie mit der Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale – Deutsche Version (HADS-D) und der Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist – Civilian Version (PCL-C) untersucht: 23 nach Standard- und 24 nach Hochdosistherapie sowie 29 nach Brustoperation und Strahlentherapie als Vergleichsgruppe. Signifikante Zusammenhänge sind vor allem zwischen kognitiven Funktionen und Intrusionssymptomen einer Posttraumatischen Belastungsstörung (PTBS) festzustellen. Bei Patientinnen nach Standardtherapie weisen Intrusionen der PTBS einen moderaten Zusammenhang mit der globalen kognitiven Beeinträchtigung auf. Die Ergebnisse der Studie deuten auf multidimensionale Einfluss- und moderierende Faktoren bei der Entwicklung kognitiver Defizite bei Brustkrebspatientinnen nach onkologischer Therapie hin.


2008 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 219-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Frühe ◽  
Hans-Joachim Röthlein ◽  
Rita Rosner

Traumatische Ereignisse im schulischen Kontext treten vergleichsweise häufig auf. So ist die Bestimmung von Kindern und Jugendlichen, die aktuell und auch zu einem späteren Zeitpunkt einer psychologischen Betreuung bedürfen, im Rahmen der Fürsorgepflicht notwendig. 48 Jugendliche zwischen 12 und 17 Jahren wurden in der Schule zu zwei Messzeitpunkten zur akuten und posttraumatischen Symptomatik sowie zu verschiedenen Risikofaktoren befragt. Verwendet wurde die neu entwickelte Checkliste zur Akuten Belastung (CAB) und die deutsche Version des University of Los Angeles at California Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Reaction Index (UCLA CPTSD-RI). Eine Woche nach dem Ereignis betrug der Anteil klinisch bedeutsamer Belastung 21 % und nach 10 – 15 Wochen 10 %. Ein mittlerer Zusammenhang zwischen akuter und posttraumatischer Belastung konnte nachgewiesen werden. Als bedeutsame Risikofaktoren für die Entwicklung einer posttraumatischen Belastung stellten sich der Konfrontationsgrad, peritraumatisch erlebte Angst sowie akute Beeinträchtigung heraus. Im Kontext der Betreuung betroffener Jugendlicher nach traumatischen Ereignissen sollte den Risikofaktoren mehr Beachtung geschenkt werden.


2010 ◽  
Vol 218 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Slawomira J. Diener ◽  
Herta Flor ◽  
Michèle Wessa

Impairments in declarative memory have been reported in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Fragmentation of explicit trauma-related memory has been assumed to impede the formation of a coherent memorization of the traumatic event and the integration into autobiographic memory. Together with a strong non-declarative memory that connects trauma reminders with a fear response the impairment in declarative memory is thought to be involved in the maintenance of PTSD symptoms. Fourteen PTSD patients, 14 traumatized subjects without PTSD, and 13 non-traumatized healthy controls (HC) were tested with the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) to assess verbal declarative memory. PTSD symptoms were assessed with the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale and depression with the Center of Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. Several indices of the CVLT pointed to an impairment in declarative memory performance in PTSD, but not in traumatized persons without PTSD or HC. No group differences were observed if recall of memory after a time delay was set in relation to initial learning performance. In the PTSD group verbal memory performance correlated significantly with hyperarousal symptoms, after concentration difficulties were accounted for. The present study confirmed previous reports of declarative verbal memory deficits in PTSD. Extending previous results, we propose that learning rather than memory consolidation is impaired in PTSD patients. Furthermore, arousal symptoms may interfere with successful memory formation in PTSD.


2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole L. Hofman ◽  
Austin M. Hahn ◽  
Christine K. Tirabassi ◽  
Raluca M. Gaher

Abstract. Exposure to traumatic events and the associated risk of developing Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms is a significant and overlooked concern in the college population. It is important for current research to identify potential protective factors associated with the development and maintenance of PTSD symptoms unique to this population. Emotional intelligence and perceived social support are two identified protective factors that influence the association between exposure to traumatic events and PTSD symptomology. The current study examined the mediating role of social support in the relationship between emotional intelligence and PTSD symptoms. Participants included 443 trauma-exposed university students who completed online questionnaires. The results of this study indicated that social support mediates the relationship between emotional intelligence and reported PTSD symptoms. Thus, emotional intelligence is significantly associated with PTSD symptoms and social support may play an integral role in the relationship between emotional intelligence and PTSD. The current study is the first to investigate the role of social support in the relationship between emotional intelligence and PTSD symptoms. These findings have important treatment and prevention implications with regard to PTSD.


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