Scientists Learn About the Way We Respond to Trauma

Usually, it isn't until after a natural disaster or traumatic event that specialists learn about how people psychologically respond to those events. However, researchers at the Geisinger Center for Health Research have identified specific genetic risks associated with post-traumatic stress disorder and key psychosocial predictors that may lead to PTSD.

Post-traumatic stress disorder is an adverse psychological reaction to a traumatic event. Irritability, poor concentration, increased defensiveness, excessive fear, disturbed sleep, phobias, panic disorder, loss of interest, a sense of having no future, avoidance of other people, and sleep problems are all symptoms of PTSD. Whether the traumatic event is a natural disaster like Japan's earthquake, or a cancer diagnosis, PTSD occurs in some people, while others manage to persevere.

In the first study, researchers discovered that individuals with a certain set of "at risk" genes, were seven times more likely to suffer from PTSD than those without the genes. "They say what doesn't kill you makes only you stronger, but what we've found is that the opposite may actually be the case if you have the PTSD risk genes." said Joseph Boscarino, Ph.D., MPH, senior investigator for the Geisinger Center for Health Research.

Boscarino hopes that the genetic screening of individuals for these genetic factors may lead to better post-trauma treatments and genetic counseling related to high-risk career options in the military, police work or firefighting.

In a related study, Dr. Boscarino and his team also developed a PTSD prediction tool that can be used in clinical practice after traumatic event exposures. The 10-item prediction tool predicts PTSD following traumatic exposures that include chronic pain outpatients and Level-I traumas.

"Until now there's been no easy-to-use tool to help clinicians rapidly identify PTSD in patients in routine practice or after a traumatic event," said Boscarino. "We now have a 10-step process that can accurately and quickly identify PTSD cases from non-cases and facilitate the most appropriate therapy."

In a recent issue of the Journal of Behavioral Medicine, researchers found that religiosity and spirituality also have an effect on how people deal with trauma. Those who report feeling a high level of personal commitment to spiritual or religious beliefs were able to cope better with a collective traumatic event - like an earthquake, tsunami, or hurricane -- than those who didn't. Researchers reported a higher positive affect, lower odds of new onset infectious ailments, and more cognitive intrusions, but a more rapid decline in intrusions over time. Researchers focused on collective trauma instead of individual trauma, but hope that the findings will help physicians help a variety of patients. "These findings focused on responses to a collective trauma," says Michael J. Poulin, PhD, assistant professor of psychology at UB. "But they may apply to stress and coping more generally."

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