Temporal relationship of posttraumatic stress disorder symptom clusters during and after an expressive writing intervention for Chinese American breast cancer survivors

Qiao Chu, Ivan Haw Chong Wu, Moni Tang, Janice Tsoh, Qian Lu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a significant condition and frequently observed among breast cancer survivors. Extant literature has demonstrated the effectiveness of expressive writing interventions in reducing PTSD among breast cancer survivors. However, little is known about how different PTSD symptom clusters influence each other over time during and after the expressive writing intervention among breast cancer survivors. We investigated how the three PTSD symptom clusters (reexperiencing, avoidance and hyperarousal) influence each other during and after an expressive writing intervention among Chinese American breast cancer survivors. Methods: Chinese American breast cancer survivors (n = 136) completed an expressive writing intervention. Their PTSD symptoms were assessed at baseline, 1-, 3-, and 6-month follow-ups. Results: Using cross-lagged panel analysis, the model with hyperarousal symptoms at each assessment wave predicting the subsequent severity of avoidance and reexperiencing symptoms indicated the best fit, χ2(52) = 65.422, p = .100; CFI = 0.990, RMSEA = 0.044, 95% CI [0.000, 0.074]. Conclusion: The results suggest that hyperarousal symptoms predict the subsequent severity of reexperiencing and avoidance symptoms over time during and after the expressive writing intervention. The findings highlight the importance of early diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of hyperarousal symptoms in enhancing the efficacy of PTSD interventions and reducing the chronicity in PTSD among Chinese American breast cancer survivors. Clinical Trial Registration at ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02946619.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number110142
JournalJournal of Psychosomatic Research
Volume135
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2020

Keywords

  • Breast cancer
  • Chinese American
  • Expressive writing
  • PTSD symptom clusters

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Clinical Psychology
  • Psychiatry and Mental health

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