Sleep disturbances predict later trauma-related distress: Cross-panel investigation amidst violent turmoil.

Abstract

Objective Sleep disturbances, including trouble falling and remaining asleep and recurrent nightmares, are symptoms of posttraumatic stress. A growing body of literature indicates that sleep disturbance may also convey vulnerability for the continuation of other symptoms of posttraumatic stress including fear, anxiety, and heightened arousal. However, longitudinal research, which could help understand how these relationships unfold over time, has been limited. Method The longitudinal relationships between sleep disturbance and posttraumatic stress were investigated in 779 Palestinian adults randomly selected and interviewed twice during the period of April, 2008 to November, 2008 amidst ongoing violent political turmoil. The recruitment method produced a representative sample and excellent retention. Cross-panel structural equation modeling was used to examine relationships between sleep and distress across two study periods. Results Results indicated that initial sleep problems were associated with increased PTSD, depression, and intrapersonal resource loss at follow-up 6 months later, but initial PTSD, depression, and intrapersonal resource loss were not associated with increased sleep problems at follow-up. Conclusions Sleep problems may confer vulnerability to longer-term distress in the presence of ongoing political violence. Future research should examine whether interventions targeting trauma-related sleep problems may improve prevention and treatment for PTSD and related disorders.

Threatened or Threatening? How Ideology Shapes Asylum Seekers’ Immigration Policy Attitudes in Israel and Australia

“…Study 2 is based on the baseline Israeli data included in Study 1, along with data from a second survey conducted in Israel several months later, during Operation Protective Edge. Study 2 uses a longitudinal panel design ( Gerhart et al 2014 ) which tests for changes in attitudes over a period in which the country went from relative quiet to violent conflict, to evaluate whether the overall sense of threat varies within participants and between time points (though the number and status of asylum seekers remained fairly stable during that time).…”

Sleep disturbances, TBI and PTSD: Implications for treatment and recovery

“…Sleep disturbance itself may be a risk factor for development of PTSD following exposure to trauma (Bryant et al, 2010; Gehrman et al, 2013; Gerhart et al, 2014; Kobayashi & Mellman, 2012; Koffel et al, 2013; Spoormaker & Montgomery, 2008; Swinkels et al, 2013; Wright et al, 2011). A longitudinal investigation of sleep and trauma-related distress found that initial sleep problems predicted increased PTSD and depression at 6 month follow-up, whereas initial PTSD and depression did not predict increased sleep problems (Gerhart et al, 2014).…”

“…A longitudinal investigation of sleep and trauma-related distress found that initial sleep problems predicted increased PTSD and depression at 6 month follow-up, whereas initial PTSD and depression did not predict increased sleep problems (Gerhart et al, 2014). A longer follow- up study similarly found that pre-deployment sleep complaints uniquely and incrementally predicted PTSD and depression up to two years after deployment, even after controlling for baseline psychiatric symptoms and negative emotionality characteristics (Koffel et al, 2013).…”

“…As with TBI, it is not clear to what extent the severity of sleep disturbance maintains the psychopathology of PTSD given that poor sleep is associated with increased anxiety, irritability, and deficient coping (K. Babson et al, 2011; Pietrzak et al, 2010; van Liempt, 2012). Recently it has been reported that poor sleep independently predicts the development of depression (Baglioni et al, 2011; Buysse et al, 2008; Jackson, Sztendur, Diamond, Byles, & Bruck, 2014; Peppard, Szklo-Coxe, Hla, & Young, 2006; Szklo-Coxe, Young, Peppard, Finn, & Benca, 2010), PTSD (Bryant, Creamer, O’Donnell, Silove, & McFarlane, 2010; Gehrman et al, 2013; Gerhart, Hall, Russ, Canetti, & Hobfoll, 2014; Kobayashi & Mellman, 2012; Koffel, Polusny, Arbisi, & Erbes, 2013; Spoormaker & Montgomery, 2008; Swinkels, Ulmer, Beckham, Buse, & Calhoun, 2013; Wright et al, 2011), changes in post-deployment depression and PTSD symptoms (Wright et al, 2011), suicide risk in both clinical and non-clinical populations (Pigeon, Pinquart, & Conner, 2012; Ribeiro et al, 2012; and for a review see Woznica, Carney, Kuo, & Moss, 2014), and is more related to low satisfaction with life and post-deployment community integration than other symptoms of PTSD (Kark, Stavitsky, Deluca, Lafleche, & Bogdanova, 2013). Furthermore, there is some evidence that poor sleep likely impacts the efficacy of evidence-based psychotherapy for treatment of PTSD (Nappi, Drummond, & Hall, 2012).…”

Psychometric evaluation of the Hamburg Nightmare Questionnaire (HNQ)

“…The prevalence of nightmares in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is 50-70% in several studies (see review by Wittmann, Schredl, & Kramer, 2007). Several studies document an association of PTSD severity and nightmare frequency (Blank, Kelly, Bootzin, & Haynes, 2009;Gerhart, Russ, Hall, & Canetti, 2014). Posttraumatic nightmares are a diagnostic criterion of PTSD according to ICD-10 (WHO, 2004) and DSM-5 (APA, 2013) and are considered to be emotionally the most intense type of dreaming (Levin & Nielsen, 2007).…”