Personality, Social Context and Cognitive Predictors of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Myocardial Infarction Patients

The study investigated the relationship between two personality factors (alexithymia and negative affect), social support, the immediate cognitive and emotional response (importance, degree of emotional response, dissociation, fear) to a myocardial infarction and the frequency of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms three months following a myocardial infarction (MI). Seventy five of eighty nine consecutive hospital admissions completed questionnaires both in hospital and three months subsequently. The study found a PTSD prevalence rate of sixteen percent three months following MI. There was a moderate reduction of intrusive memories of the MI and anxiety symptoms over time and a non-significant reduction in avoidance phenomena. Depressive symptoms did not reduce over time. Significant associations were found between PTSD symptoms at three months and initial intrusion and avoidance symptoms, negative affect, absence of confidant support, dissociation, fright and surprise. The percentage of the variance in post-traumatic symptomatology explained by the theoretical constructs of interest was modest (total adjusted R 2 between 0.392 and 0.658 depending on the measure of PTSD symptoms), but sufficient to warrant their inclusion in a predictive model of PTSD symptoms.