Abstract

LOPEZ-MARTINEZ,, Alicia Eva et al. Emotional distress as a symptom of post-traumatic stress. Salud(i)Ciencia [online]. 2019, vol.23, n.6, pp.512-518.  Epub Oct 08, 2019. ISSN 1667-8682.  http://dx.doi.org/www.dx.doi.org/10.21840/siic/159626.

Post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD has an important prevalence in the population, so knowing the psychological mechanisms of vulnerability and maintenance of this disorder is clearly relevant. Among those mechanisms, the emotional distress construct has been postulated as a trans-diagnostic tool related to different mental disorders. The objective of the present study was to test a hypothetical model for the analysis of the association between three variables of this construct (experiential avoidance, distress tolerance, and inhibitory uncertainty intolerance) and PTSD. The subjects of study amounted to 328 university students (74.7% women and 25.3% men, with a median age of 21) who had experienced at least one traumatic event according to the DSM-5 criteria. They were made to complete a set of questionnaires. A structural equation analysis was carried out, with results partially coincident with the hypothetical model. Exponential avoidance showed a positive and significant association with distress tolerance, inhibitory uncertainty intolerance and PTSD symptoms. Distress tolerance was also associated with these symptoms in a positive and significant way. However, inhibitory uncertainty intolerance was not associated with this symptomatology. Following the preexisting empirical evidence, the findings of this study have an impact on the role of experiential avoidance and distress tolerance, as variables that moderate post-traumatic symptomatology. Furthermore, the findings point to the need to consider these variables in psychological interventions for the treatment of PTSD.

Keywords : posttraumatic stress disorder; emotional distress; experiential avoidance; distress tolerance; intolerance of uncertainty.

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