Incidence and Psychophysiology of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Breast Cancer Victims and Witnesses

Abstract

The objectives are a.) to evaluate the incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in breast cancer patients and "witnesses" (i.e., significant others), and b.) to validate interview-based diagnoses by measuring physiologic responses during script-driven imagery of patients' and witnesses' personal experiences with breast cancer. To date, of 58 breast cancer patients studied, 4 (7%) met DSM-IV criteria for current PTSD; 11 (19%) for past PTSD; and 43 (74%) patients for neither. In the laboratory, 1 (33%) of 3 current PTSD patients, 1 (10%) of 10 past PTSD patients, and 5 (19%) of 27 never PTSD patients were physiologic responders. Similarly low rates of the PTSD diagnosis and of physiologic responding have been found in 41 witnesses studied. These data call into question "being diagnosed with a life-threatening illness" (DSM-IV, p. 424) as a source of physiologically valid PTSD.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 01, 1997
Accession Number
ADB234468

Entities

People

  • Roger K. Pitman

Organizations

  • Harvard College

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Anxiety Disorders
  • Biomedical Research
  • Breast Cancer
  • Diseases And Disorders
  • Laboratory Animals
  • Materials
  • Mental Disorders
  • Neoplasms
  • Psychiatry
  • Psychophysiology
  • Recombinant Dna
  • Traumatic Stress Disorder

Fields of Study

  • Medicine
  • Psychology

Readers

  • Psychological Intervention/Treatment for Stress, Anxiety, PTSD, and Related Emotional and Cognitive Health Symptoms.
  • Trauma or Military Medicine
  • Women's Health and Cancer Risk Research: African American Women and Pregnancy Outcomes.