Posttraumatic stress disorder's dysphoria dimension and relations with generalized anxiety disorder symptoms

Tory A Durham; Jon D Elhai; Thomas H Fine; Marijo Tamburrino; Gregory Cohen; Edwin Shirley; Philip K Chan; Israel Liberzon; Sandro Galea; Joseph R Calabrese

doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2015.04.034

Posttraumatic stress disorder's dysphoria dimension and relations with generalized anxiety disorder symptoms

Psychiatry Res. 2015 Jul 30;228(1):150-5. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2015.04.034. Epub 2015 Apr 30.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, USA.
² Department of Psychology, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, USA. Electronic address: http://www.jon-elhai.com.
³ Department of Psychiatry, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, USA.
⁴ Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA; University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USA.
⁶ Mental Health Service, VA Ann Arbor Health System, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
⁷ School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
⁸ Department of Psychiatry, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.

PMID: 25983285
DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2015.04.034

Abstract

The present study investigated symptom relations between two highly comorbid disorders--posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)--by exploring their underlying dimensions. Based on theory and prior empirical research it was expected that the dysphoria factor of PTSD would be more highly related to GAD. As part of a longitudinal project of mental health among Ohio National Guard Soldiers, 1266 subjects were administered the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 scale (GAD-7). Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were conducted to examine two models of PTSD and to determine which PTSD factors were more related to the GAD factor. The results indicate that the GAD factor was significantly more highly correlated with PTSD's dysphoria factor than with all other PTSD factors, including PTSD's reexperiencing factor, avoidance factor, and hyperarousal factor. Results indicate GAD was not significantly more highly correlated with numbing than most other factors of PTSD. The results are consistent with prior research. Implications of the results are discussed in regards to PTSD in DSM-5, comorbidity and diagnostic specificity.

Keywords: Comorbidity; Confirmatory factor analysis; Dysphoria; Generalized anxiety disorder; Posttraumatic stress disorder.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Affective Symptoms / epidemiology
Affective Symptoms / physiopathology*
Anxiety Disorders / epidemiology
Anxiety Disorders / physiopathology*
Comorbidity
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Ohio / epidemiology
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / epidemiology
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / physiopathology*
Veterans / psychology*
Veterans / statistics & numerical data
Young Adult