The role of experiential avoidance in posttraumatic stress symptoms and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and somatization

J Nerv Ment Dis. 2004 Nov;192(11):754-61. doi: 10.1097/01.nmd.0000144694.30121.89.

Abstract

This study examined the relationships between experiential avoidance in general (and thought suppression in particular), posttraumatic stress symptom severity, and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and somatization among a sample of individuals exposed to multiple potentially traumatic events. Although experiential avoidance was not associated with severity of posttraumatic stress symptoms beyond their shared relationship with general psychiatric symptom severity, it was associated with symptoms of depression, anxiety, and somatization when controlling for posttraumatic stress symptom severity. Thought suppression, on the other hand, was associated with severity of posttraumatic stress symptoms when controlling for their shared relationship with general psychiatric symptom severity. No significant relationships were found between thought suppression and the presence of depression, anxiety, and somatization symptoms when controlling for posttraumatic stress symptom severity. Results suggest the importance of separately examining the influence of different forms of experiential avoidance on posttraumatic psychopathology.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Anxiety Disorders / diagnosis*
  • Anxiety Disorders / psychology
  • Depressive Disorder / diagnosis*
  • Depressive Disorder / psychology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Life Change Events*
  • Middle Aged
  • Models, Psychological
  • Personality Inventory
  • Regression Analysis
  • Repression, Psychology*
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Somatoform Disorders / diagnosis*
  • Somatoform Disorders / psychology
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / diagnosis*
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / psychology
  • Surveys and Questionnaires