Meaning-Directed Writing To Reduce PTSD And Develop Resilience For Future Trauma
Crystal L Park, Assistant Professor
Psychologyuniversity Of Connecticut Storrs
Grant 5R21MH075737-02 from National Institute Of Mental Health, IRG: ITMA
Abstract: Trauma exposure in the general population is high, and constitutes a major risk factor for experiencing high levels of distress, including PTSD symptomatology, in subsequent stressful and traumatic encounters. However, prior exposure per se constitutes only one risk factor. Survivors´ ongoing appraisals of and coping with trauma are related as strongly, or perhaps even more so, to levels of PTSD symptomatology and distress, as well as to their responses to future potentially traumatic events. Fairly simple interventions involving writing about one´s traumatic experiences have been shown to improve physical health and well- being, but few have examined the influence of writing on PTSD symptomatology. Further, there is little understanding of the mechanisms through which writing interventions may affect trauma-related distress. This 14 month longitudinal study of trauma survivors involves a writing intervention and a longer-term follow up that prospectively examines the influence of the intervention on coping with subsequent highly stressful experiences. This study extends the expressive writing intervention paradigm in four ways (1) by examining a technique of meaning-directed writing designed to more directly influence survivors´ appraisal and coping processes to help them achieve a higher degree adaptive appraisal of their trauma and more adaptive coping with it; (2) by focusing explicitly on post-traumatic stress symptomatology as well as other measures of distress and functioning; (3), by testing whether these more adaptive appraisals and coping processes not only reduce current symptomatology, but also serve as a protective factor for individuals when they encounter future traumatic or highly stressful experiences, and (4) by examining the effectiveness of extending focused expressive writing interventions via implementation on the World Wide Web. These results will have important implications for public health in elucidating the pathways through which traumatic exposure may affect subsequent functioning, and pointing the way for enhancing resilience and adaptive coping abilities. If effective, this intervention--short-term, easily adapted and implemented, and low-cost-- could be implemented at a community-wide level to decrease post-traumatic stress symptomatology and distress and build resilience for future stressful encounters. These results will have important implications for public health in elucidating the pathways through which traumatic exposure may affect subsequent functioning, and pointing the way for enhancing resilience and adaptive coping abilities. If effective, this intervention--short-term, easily adapted and implemented, and low-cost--could be implemented at a community-wide level to decrease post-traumatic stress symptomatology and distress and build resilience for future stressful encounters
Keywords: disease /disorder prevention /control, human therapy evaluation, personal log /diary, posttraumatic stress disorder, psychological shock, psychotherapy Internet, coping, functional ability, longitudinal human study, mental health epidemiology, psychological adaptation, psychological stressor, sign /symptom behavioral /social science research tag, clinical research, human subject, questionnaire
Project start date: 2007-08-01
Project end date: 2009-07-31
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Grants awarded to Crystal L Park
Meaning-Directed Writing To Reduce PTSD And Develop Resilience For Future Trauma
Crystal L Park, Assistant Professor
Psychologyuniversity Of Connecticut Storrs
Grant 5R21MH075737-02 from National Institute Of Mental Health, IRG: ITMA
Abstract: Trauma exposure in the general population is high, and constitutes a major risk factor for experiencing high levels of distress, including PTSD symptomatology, in subsequent stressful and traumatic encounters. However, prior exposure per se constitutes only one risk factor. Survivors´ ongoing appraisals of and coping with trauma are related as strongly, or perhaps even more so, to levels of PTSD symptomatology and distress, as well as to their responses to future potentially traumatic events. Fairly simple interventions involving writing about one´s traumatic experiences have been shown to improve physical health and well- being, but few have examined the influence of writing on PTSD symptomatology. Further, there is little understanding of the mechanisms through which writing interventions may affect trauma-related distress. This 14 month longitudinal study of trauma survivors involves a writing intervention and a longer-term follow up that prospectively examines the influence of the intervention on coping with subsequent highly stressful experiences. This study extends the expressive writing intervention paradigm in four ways (1) by examining a technique of meaning-directed writing designed to more directly influence survivors´ appraisal and coping processes to help them achieve a higher degree adaptive appraisal of their trauma and more adaptive coping with it; (2) by focusing explicitly on post-traumatic stress symptomatology as well as other measures of distress and functioning; (3), by testing whether these more adaptive appraisals and coping processes not only reduce current symptomatology, but also serve as a protective factor for individuals when they encounter future traumatic or highly stressful experiences, and (4) by examining the effectiveness of extending focused expressive writing interventions via implementation on the World Wide Web. These results will have important implications for public health in elucidating the pathways through which traumatic exposure may affect subsequent functioning, and pointing the way for enhancing resilience and adaptive coping abilities. If effective, this intervention--short-term, easily adapted and implemented, and low-cost-- could be implemented at a community-wide level to decrease post-traumatic stress symptomatology and distress and build resilience for future stressful encounters. These results will have important implications for public health in elucidating the pathways through which traumatic exposure may affect subsequent functioning, and pointing the way for enhancing resilience and adaptive coping abilities. If effective, this intervention--short-term, easily adapted and implemented, and low-cost--could be implemented at a community-wide level to decrease post-traumatic stress symptomatology and distress and build resilience for future stressful encounters
Keywords: disease /disorder prevention /control, human therapy evaluation, personal log /diary, posttraumatic stress disorder, psychological shock, psychotherapy Internet, coping, functional ability, longitudinal human study, mental health epidemiology, psychological adaptation, psychological stressor, sign /symptom behavioral /social science research tag, clinical research, human subject, questionnaire
Project start date: 2007-08-01
Project end date: 2009-07-31
1R21MH075737-01A2 (2007): $203796
STRESS, COLLEGE STUDENT DRINKING, AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS
Crystal L Park, Assistant Professor
Psychologyuniversity Of Connecticut Storrs
438 Whitney Road Extension, Unit 1133
storrs-mansfield, Ct 06269
Grant 1R03AA012434-01A1 from National Institute On Alcohol Abuse And Alcoholism, IRG: ZAA1
Abstract: The goal of this two-year project is to examine the temporal relationship between life stress and alcohol use as it unfolds in the everyday lives of college students, and the role that psychosocial protective and vulnerability factors may play in moderating this relationship. A number of studies have documented positive relationships between increased life stress or distress and increased alcohol consumption in college students; however, no study to date has examined relations between daily fluctuations in stress and alcohol consumption among college student. The methodology used in this study, daily diary reports, represents a major advance in research on stress and alcohol use Daily reporting of stress and alcohol consumption and the application of multilevel modeling reduces recall distortion and allows for the simultaneous examination of the within-by-between-person question of whether certain individuals drink more on high stress days versus low stress days. Three-hundred college students will complete measures of psychosocial protective and vulnerability factors. Then, for 21 days, they will record in structured diaries their daily stress, coping, and mood, and previous night´s stress and alcohol consumption. Multilevel regression analyses will be used to address the following questions (a) Do students drink more alcohol during high stress periods (days, weeks) compared to low stress periods?; (b) Do negative mood states and emotion-focused coping, efforts mediate the effects of stress on alcohol consumption?; and (c) do college students with fewer psychosocial resources and greater vulnerability markers, compared to others, drink more during high stress periods (days, weeks) versus low stress periods, and are these associations the same for men and women? Answers to these questions might guide intervention efforts aimed at reducing problem drinking patterns and their long term consequences
Keywords: alcoholic beverage consumption, social psychology, stress, university student coping, emotion, gender difference, personal log /diary, time resolved data, university behavioral /social science research tag, clinical research, human subject
Project start date: 2001-08-01
Project end date: 2003-07-31
1R03AA012434-01A1 (2001): $66424
Religiousness-Health Links In CHF: Roles Of Mediators And Age
Crystal L Park, Assistant Professor
University Of Connecticut Storrs 438 Whitney Road Extension, Unit 1133 Storrs-mansfield, Ct 06269
Grant 5R03AG023883-02 from National Institute On Aging, IRG: SPIP
Abstract: Religious and spiritual variables as determinants of health have received a great deal of research attention in recent years, and evidence is accumulating that religiousness/spirituality (R/S) exerts varied and complex influences on health. However, most research has examined the variable of "attendance at services"; much less is known about the influence of other aspects of R/S on physical health. Further, although R/S appears to exert its strongest effects in highly stressful situations, little is known about R/S factors and health in those living with chronic or terminal illness. This two-occasion longitudinal study examines several dimensions of R/S as predictors of health over a 6 month period in older individuals living with congestive heart failure (CHF), a chronic, progressive, and debilitating disease. Further, although a number of pathways have been proposed as mediators, few have been tested. The proposed study examines the potential mediating influences of social support, health behaviors, life meaning, positive affect, and hope on health. Finally, while much research has examined effects of religiousness and spirituality on the health of older individuals, very little has examined whether R/S is more strongly linked to health as people age. This study examines the influence of age as a moderator of the religiousness/spirituality-health link. The primary goals of this study are to better understand the functions of R/S on health and to expand our understanding of the influences of age in these relationships. This study addresses the following specific aims (1) Examine the influences that dimensions of religion/spirituality (in addition to "attendance") exert on various aspects of health and adaptation to living with a chronic illness, CHF, (2) Test potential pathways of influence between R/S and health, including social support, health behaviors, life meaning, positive affect, and hope, on various aspects of health and adaptation, and (3) Determine the potential moderating effect of age on the R/S-health links. This line of research may lead to interventions that capitalize on the most helpful aspects of R/S for those who are religious or spiritual, and, for those who are not, to identify alternative types of meaning that might be drawn upon
Keywords: chronic disease /disorder, congestive heart failure, prognosis, psychological adaptation, religion, age difference, attitude, belief, health behavior, longitudinal human study, self concept, social support network, behavioral /social science research tag, clinical research, human subject, patient oriented research
Project start date: 2006-09-01
Project end date: 2008-08-31
5R03AG023883-02 (2007): $56919
1R03AG023883-01A2 (2006): $66600
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