Citation

Siegel EY, Haller M, Cui R, Trim RS, Tate SR, Norman SB. Subst. Abuse 2017; 38(4): 468-472.

Affiliation

National Center for PTSD, White River Junction , Vermont , USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/08897077.2017.1342736

PMID

28632462

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The comorbidity of depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and substance use disorder (SUD) is common among veterans. Some research indicates that poor expectancies for negative mood regulation (NMR) may be associated with depression, trauma symptoms, and substance abuse. However, little is known about whether NMR expectancies can be changed through psychotherapy and if so, whether changes in NMR expectancies are related to changes in depression, PTSD, and SUD.

METHODS: Therefore, this study examined 1) whether negative mood regulation (NMR) expectancies correlate with depression, PTSD, and SUD symptoms, 2) whether NMR expectancies improve after group integrated cognitive behavioral therapy (ICBT) and 3) whether these changes were associated with improvements in depression, PTSD, and SUD symptoms in a sample of 123 veterans (89% male, 64% non-Hispanic Caucasian) recruited from a Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) Healthcare System.

RESULTS: Findings indicated that 1) NMR expectancies were significantly associated with depression and PTSD symptoms but not substance use at baseline; 2) NMR expectancies significantly improved following group ICBT treatment; 3) following treatment, improvements in NMR expectancies were associated with decreases in depression and PTSD symptoms, but were unrelated to changes in substance use outcomes, and 4) baseline NMR expectancies did not predict treatment outcomes. Similarly, pre-post NMR expectancies change scores were significantly associated with changes in depression and PTSD symptoms, but not percentage days using or percentage days heavy drinking.

CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, our study suggests that group ICBT is associated with improvements in NMR expectancies among veterans with depression, PTSD, and SUD, which is associated with improvements in depression and PTSD symptoms.

Language: en

Keywords

Mood regulation; NMR; PTSD; depression; drinking; substance use; trauma; veterans