The relationship between negative expressivity, anger, and PTSD symptom clusters

Meredith Claycomb; Michelle E Roley; Ateka A Contractor; Cherie Armour; Paula Dranger; Li Wang; Jon D Elhai

doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2016.06.012

The relationship between negative expressivity, anger, and PTSD symptom clusters

Psychiatry Res. 2016 Sep 30:243:1-4. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2016.06.012. Epub 2016 Jun 17.

Authors

Meredith Claycomb¹, Michelle E Roley², Ateka A Contractor³, Cherie Armour⁴, Paula Dranger⁵, Li Wang⁶, Jon D Elhai⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, USA.
² Department of Psychiatry, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA.
³ VA Boston Healthcare System, Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiology Research and Information Center (MAVERIC), Boston, MA, USA; Boston University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, USA; Department of Psychology, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas, USA.
⁴ School of Psychology, Psychology Research Institute, Ulster University, Coleraine, Northern Ireland, UK.
⁵ Sexual Assault Awareness and Facilitative Education Office (SAAFE) Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, IN, USA; Licensed Clinical Addictions Counseling Graduate Certificate, Valparaiso, IN, USA.
⁶ Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
⁷ Department of Psychology, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, USA. Electronic address: contact@jon-elhai.com.

PMID: 27343408
DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2016.06.012

Abstract

More investigation is needed to understand how specific posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom clusters relate to the internal experience of anger and overt negative behaviors in response to anger (negative expressivity). We investigated whether anger mediated relations between PTSD symptom clusters and negative expressivity. Multiple regression revealed lower PTSD intrusion symptoms associated with higher levels of negative expressivity. Anger mediated this relationship. Higher avoidance symptoms related to higher negative expressivity. Clinical implications, limitations, and strengths are discussed.

Keywords: Anger; Negative expression; PTSD.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Anger*
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Pessimism / psychology*
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / diagnosis*
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / epidemiology
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / psychology*
Young Adult