Sex differences in global and local connectivity of adolescent posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms

Xing Cao; Li Wang; Chengqi Cao; Ruojiao Fang; Chen Chen; Brain J Hall; Jon D Elhai

doi:10.1111/jcpp.12963

Sex differences in global and local connectivity of adolescent posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms

J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2019 Feb;60(2):216-224. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.12963. Epub 2018 Aug 20.

Authors

Xing Cao^{1

2}, Li Wang^{1

2}, Chengqi Cao^{1

2}, Ruojiao Fang^{1

2}, Chen Chen^{1

2}, Brain J Hall^{3

4}, Jon D Elhai^{5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory for Traumatic Stress Studies, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
² Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
³ Global and Community Mental Health Research Group, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Macau, Macau, China.
⁴ Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
⁵ Department of Psychology, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, USA.
⁶ Department of Psychiatry, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, USA.

PMID: 30125943
DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.12963

Abstract

Background: Sex differences in youth's posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology have not been well studied.

Methods: Based on a recently burgeoning theory of psychopathology networks, this study conducted sex comparisons of global and local connectivity of PTSD symptoms in a sample of 868 disaster-exposed adolescents (57.0% girls; a mean age of 13.4 ± 0.8 years) with significant PTSD symptomatology evaluated by the UCLA PTSD Reaction Index for DSM-IV.

Results: The results revealed that global connectivity was stronger in girls' network than in boys', and individual symptoms' connectivity and its rankings differed by sex. Intrusive recollections, flashbacks, avoiding activities/people, and detachment were the most strongly connected symptoms in girls, whereas flashbacks, physiological cue reactivity, diminished interest, and foreshortened future were the most strongly connected symptoms in boys. Several symptoms were identified as featuring large connectivity differences across sex.

Conclusions: These findings provide novel insights into sex differential risk and features of youth's PTSD symptomatology. Sex differences reflected in the co-occurrence of PTSD symptoms may merit more consideration in research and clinical practice.

Keywords: Posttraumatic stress disorder; adolescents; network analysis; sex differences; symptom connectivity.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
China / epidemiology
Earthquakes
Female
Humans
Male
Sex Characteristics*
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / epidemiology*
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / etiology
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / physiopathology*