Laboratory of Behavioral Neurophysiology, Physiology and Pharmacology Department, Biomedical Institute, Federal Fluminense University, Niterói, RJ, Brazil.
Laboratory of Cognitive Psychophysiology, Department of Natural Sciences, Institute of Humanities and Health, Federal Fluminense University, Rio das Ostras, RJ, Brazil.
PLoS One. 2020 Feb 6;15(2):e0228661. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228661. eCollection 2020.
The present study investigated the influences of coping styles on posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) among a sample of non-clinical college students who were exposed to traumatic events. Ninety-nine college students participated in the study. However, the sample used in the analyses consisted of only 37 participants who fulfilled the DSM-IV criterion A for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) diagnosis. The PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C) and the Brief COPE were used to assess the participants' PTSS and habitual use of coping strategies, respectively. Bayesian and frequentist correlations showed that emotion-focused coping style was negatively associated with PTSS, while dysfunctional coping style was positively related to PTSS. In the subsequent linear regression on both statistical framework, dysfunctional coping was the only consistent variable predicting more PTSD symptoms. The findings presented here show that lower use of adaptive coping (emotion-focused) and higher use of dysfunctional coping styles on a daily basis are associated to PTSS severity in a non-clinical sample of college students. According to the Bayesian approach, which permits more generalization of data, dysfunctional coping style is determinant to higher levels of PTSS. These findings add new data to the body of research that highlight the critical role of distinct coping strategies in the severity of PTSS.
本研究调查了应对方式对经历创伤事件的非临床大学生创伤后应激症状（PTSS）的影响。99 名大学生参加了这项研究。然而，在分析中使用的样本仅包括 37 名符合创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）诊断 DSM-IV 标准 A 的参与者。使用 PTSD 检查表-平民版（PCL-C）和简要应对方式量表（Brief COPE）分别评估参与者的 PTSS 和习惯性应对策略。贝叶斯和经典相关分析表明，情绪聚焦应对方式与 PTSS 呈负相关，而功能失调的应对方式与 PTSS 呈正相关。在这两种统计框架的后续线性回归中，功能失调的应对方式是唯一能预测 PTSD 症状更多的变量。本研究结果表明，在非临床大学生样本中，日常较低使用适应性应对（情绪聚焦）和较高使用功能失调的应对方式与 PTSS 严重程度有关。根据允许更广泛推广数据的贝叶斯方法，功能失调的应对方式是导致更高水平的 PTSD 的决定因素。这些发现为强调不同应对策略在 PTSD 严重程度中的关键作用的研究提供了新的数据。
