Short Nicole A, Brady Mahlon, Lechner Megan, Serrano Karen, McLean Samuel A
Department of Anesthesiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
Institute for Trauma Recovery, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
J Trauma Stress. 2023 Dec;36(6):1056-1065. doi: 10.1002/jts.22974. Epub 2023 Oct 5.
Anxiety sensitivity (AS), defined as the fear of anxious arousal, is a promising therapeutic target to reduce posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom development after trauma exposure. Computerized AS interventions have been shown to be acceptable to individuals with PTSD symptoms and effective in achieving symptom reduction; however, to our knowledge, no research has examined AS interventions initiated in the immediate aftermath of trauma. We evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, and credibility of a brief (i.e., ∼75 min of psychoeducation, ∼2 hr of ecological momentary intervention) smartphone-based AS intervention in a pilot study. Participants were 12 women who presented for emergency care after sexual assault with high levels of peritraumatic PTSD symptoms. Most women who started the intervention completed the majority of it and reported using the techniques provided. Results indicated that participants perceived the intervention as logical and believed it would help in reducing their symptoms. Qualitative feedback was mostly positive but also indicated concern regarding intervention length. Although not the purpose of the study, results indicated medium-to-large, statistically significant decreases in AS, g = 0.74, and PTSD symptoms, g = 1.20. Overall, these preliminary findings suggest that this novel smartphone-based intervention targeting AS was feasible, acceptable, and credible in this small sample of women receiving emergency care following sexual assault. Treatment outcome data must be considered in the context of natural recovery; however, these promising preliminary feasibility, acceptability, and credibility data support continuing to pilot the feasibility and potential efficacy of the intervention to reduce AS and prolonged PTSD symptoms.
焦虑敏感性(AS)被定义为对焦虑唤醒的恐惧,是减少创伤暴露后创伤后应激障碍(PTSD)症状发展的一个有前景的治疗靶点。计算机化的AS干预已被证明对于有PTSD症状的个体是可接受的,并且在减轻症状方面是有效的;然而,据我们所知,尚无研究考察在创伤后立即启动的AS干预。在一项试点研究中,我们评估了一种基于智能手机的简短(即约75分钟的心理教育、约2小时的生态瞬时干预)AS干预的可行性、可接受性和可信度。参与者为12名遭受性侵犯后因围创伤期PTSD症状严重而前来接受急诊护理的女性。大多数开始干预的女性完成了大部分干预内容,并报告使用了所提供的技巧。结果表明,参与者认为该干预合乎逻辑,并相信它会有助于减轻她们的症状。定性反馈大多是积极的,但也表明了对干预时长的担忧。虽然这并非本研究的目的,但结果显示AS和PTSD症状有中到大幅的、具有统计学意义的下降,AS的g值为0.74,PTSD症状的g值为1.20。总体而言,这些初步发现表明,这种针对AS的新型基于智能手机的干预在这个遭受性侵犯后接受急诊护理的小样本女性群体中是可行的、可接受的且可信的。治疗结果数据必须在自然恢复的背景下加以考虑;然而,这些有前景的初步可行性、可接受性和可信度数据支持继续试点该干预减少AS和PTSD长期症状的可行性及潜在疗效。