TY - JOUR
T1 - Network analysis of COVID-19-related PTSD symptoms in China
T2 - The similarities and differences between the general population and PTSD sub-population
AU - Yang, Fan
AU - Fu, Mingqi
AU - Huang, Ning
AU - Ahmed, Farooq
AU - Shahid, Muhammad
AU - Zhang, Bo
AU - Guo, Jing
AU - Lodder, Paul
N1 - Funding
This study was supported by China National Social Science Foundation (20VYJ042), and The Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Number:
BMU2021YJ029).
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Background and Objectives: Prevalent Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) negatively affected individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using network analyses, this study explored the construct of PTSD symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic in China to identify similarities and differences in PTSD symptom network connectivity between the general Chinese population and individuals reporting PTSD.Methods: We conducted an online survey recruiting 2858 Chinese adults. PTSD symptoms were measured using the PCL-5 and PTSD was determined according to the DSM-5 criteria.Results: In the general population, self-destructive/reckless behaviours were on average the most strongly connected to other PTSD symptoms in the network. The five strongest positive connections were found between 1) avoidance of thoughts and avoidance of reminders, 2) concentration difficulties and sleep disturbance, 3) negative beliefs and negative trauma-related emotions, 4) irritability/anger and self-destructive/reckless behaviours, and 5) hypervigilance and exaggerated startle responses. Besides, negative connections were found between intrusive thoughts and trauma-related amnesia and between intrusive thoughts and self-destructive/reckless behaviours. Among individuals reporting PTSD, symptoms such as flashbacks and self-destructive/reckless behaviours were on average most strongly connected to other PTSD symptoms in the network. The five strongest positive connections were found between 1) concentration difficulty and sleep disturbance, 2) intrusive thoughts and emotional cue reactivity, 3) negative beliefs and negative trauma-related emotions, 4) irritability/anger and self-destructive/reckless behaviour, and 5) detachment and restricted affect. In addition, a negative connection was found between intrusive thoughts and self-destructive/reckless behaviours.Conclusion: Our results indicate similarly positive connections between concentration difficulty and sleep disturbance, negative beliefs and negative trauma-related emotions, and irritability/anger and self-destructive/reckless behaviours in the general and PTSD-reported populations. We argue that self-destructive/reckless behaviours are a core symptom of COVID-19 related PTSD, worthy of more attention in future psychiatric programmers.
AB - Background and Objectives: Prevalent Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) negatively affected individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using network analyses, this study explored the construct of PTSD symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic in China to identify similarities and differences in PTSD symptom network connectivity between the general Chinese population and individuals reporting PTSD.Methods: We conducted an online survey recruiting 2858 Chinese adults. PTSD symptoms were measured using the PCL-5 and PTSD was determined according to the DSM-5 criteria.Results: In the general population, self-destructive/reckless behaviours were on average the most strongly connected to other PTSD symptoms in the network. The five strongest positive connections were found between 1) avoidance of thoughts and avoidance of reminders, 2) concentration difficulties and sleep disturbance, 3) negative beliefs and negative trauma-related emotions, 4) irritability/anger and self-destructive/reckless behaviours, and 5) hypervigilance and exaggerated startle responses. Besides, negative connections were found between intrusive thoughts and trauma-related amnesia and between intrusive thoughts and self-destructive/reckless behaviours. Among individuals reporting PTSD, symptoms such as flashbacks and self-destructive/reckless behaviours were on average most strongly connected to other PTSD symptoms in the network. The five strongest positive connections were found between 1) concentration difficulty and sleep disturbance, 2) intrusive thoughts and emotional cue reactivity, 3) negative beliefs and negative trauma-related emotions, 4) irritability/anger and self-destructive/reckless behaviour, and 5) detachment and restricted affect. In addition, a negative connection was found between intrusive thoughts and self-destructive/reckless behaviours.Conclusion: Our results indicate similarly positive connections between concentration difficulty and sleep disturbance, negative beliefs and negative trauma-related emotions, and irritability/anger and self-destructive/reckless behaviours in the general and PTSD-reported populations. We argue that self-destructive/reckless behaviours are a core symptom of COVID-19 related PTSD, worthy of more attention in future psychiatric programmers.
KW - Adolescent
KW - COVID-19/epidemiology
KW - China/epidemiology
KW - Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
KW - Middle Aged
KW - Pandemics
KW - Self-Injurious Behavior/psychology
KW - Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/epidemiology
KW - Surveys and Questionnaires
UR - https://app-eu.readspeaker.com/cgi-bin/rsent?customerid=10118&lang=en_us&readclass=rs_readArea&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tandfonline.com%2Fdoi%2Ffull%2F10.1080%2F20008198.2021.1997181&dict=math&rule=math&xslrule=math
U2 - 10.1080/20008198.2021.1997181
DO - 10.1080/20008198.2021.1997181
M3 - Article
C2 - 34900121
VL - 12
SP - 1997181
JO - European Journal of Psychotraumatology
JF - European Journal of Psychotraumatology
SN - 2000-8198
IS - 1
ER -