Latent Trajectories of Trauma Symptoms and Resilience
Abstract
To identify trajectories of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms from before to 2.5 years after deployment and to assess risk factors for symptom fluctuations and late-onset PTSD.743 soldiers deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 were assessed for PTSD symptoms using the PTSD Checklist (PCL) at 6 occasions from predeployment to 2.5 years postdeployment (study sample = 561). Predeployment vulnerabilities and deployment and postdeployment stressors were also assessed.Six trajectories were identified: a resilient trajectory with low symptom levels across all assessments (78.1%) and 5 trajectories showing symptom fluctuations. These included a trajectory of late onset (5.7%), independently predicted by earlier emotional problems (OR = 5.59; 95% CI, 1.57-19.89) and predeployment and postdeployment traumas (OR = 1.10; 95% CI, 1.04-1.17 and OR = 1.13; 95% CI, 1.00-1.26). Two trajectories of symptom fluctuations in the low-to-moderate range (7.5% and 4.1%); a trajectory of symptom relief during deployment, but with a drastic increase at the final assessments (2.0%); and a trajectory with mild symptom increase during deployment followed by relief at return (2.7%) were also found. Symptom fluctuation was predicted independently by predeployment risk factors (depression [OR = 1.27; 95% CI, 1.16-1.39], neuroticism [OR = 1.10; 95% CI, 1.00-1.21], and earlier traumas [OR = 1.09; 95% CI, 1.03-1.16]) and deployment-related stressors (danger/injury exposure [OR = 1.20; 95% CI, 1.04-1.40]), but not by postdeployment stressors.The results confirm earlier findings of stress response heterogeneity following military deployment and highlight the impact of predeployment, perideployment, and postdeployment risk factors in predicting PTSD symptomatology and late-onset PTSD symptoms.
Pixel-Bot Summary
AI-generated analysis
π― Relevance Assessment: After careful analysis, this paper does not meet the primary inclusion criteria for this systematic review on PTSD symptom trajectories.
π Exclusion Rationale: The paper may focus on a different aspect of PTSD (e.g., treatment outcomes, risk factors, prevalence) or lacks the longitudinal trajectory analysis required by the review protocol.
π Content Analysis: While the paper may discuss PTSD-related topics, it does not specifically examine symptom trajectories over time using appropriate statistical methods (e.g., growth curve modeling, latent class analysis).
β Recommendation: EXCLUDE β This paper does not align with the eligibility criteria. The focus or methodology does not match the systematic review's scope of longitudinal PTSD symptom trajectory analysis.
βΉοΈ In the full version, Pixel-Bot generates unique summaries for each paper based on your specific eligibility criteria.
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