Symposia
Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders and Disasters
Min Eun Jeon, M.A.
Doctoral Student and Joiner Lab Supervisor
Florida State University
Tallahassee, Florida
Lee Robertson, PhD
Graduate Research Assistant
Florida state University
Tallahassee, Florida
Marielle Gomez, B.S.
Joiner Lab Manager
Florida State University
Tallahassee, Florida
Thomas Joiner, Ph.D.
Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor of Psychology
Florida state University
Tallahassee, Florida
Background: Lack of research utilizing diverse samples has limited progress in understanding the structure of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs). Given both constructs are subject to cultural influence on symptom disclosure and interpretations, assessing structural invariance of PTSD symptoms and their relation to STBs by ethnoracial identity may benefit research efforts. Thus, a moderated network model was estimated in a sample of young adults (n = 486) recruited from an urban emergency department to test whether network structure of PTSD and STBs varied between those who identified as people of color (POC) versus White/Caucasian.
Methods: Assault-injured and drug-using youth were recruited with age and sex-matched non-assault-injured, drug-using youth. PTSD symptoms were measured using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) PTSD module. STBs were quantified by summing two items assessing suicidal ideation (SI) and self-harm attempts, an item from the Brief Symptom Inventory assessing SI, and an item from the MINI Major Depressive Episode module assessing SI or suicide attempts. The summed STB item was dichotomized to indicate lack or presence of STBs in the past 30 days. MINI for PTSD and the four items assessing STBs had good internal consistency.
Mixed graphical models were estimated using the R package mgm. Model selection was conducted using cross-validation and the OR-rule. Predictability was calculated to quantify the degree of a variable’s variance explained by other variables in the network. Network stability was tested using nonparametric bootstrapping for 1,000 samples.
Results: 71.4% (n = 365) of the sample identified as a POC and 28.6% as White/Caucasian. POCs were more likely to endorse experiencing PTSD symptoms except trouble recalling trauma memories and less likely to endorse experiencing STBs. 75.8% of PTSD symptom variance and 5.4% of STB variance was explained by all nodes in the network. 6 edges among PTSD symptoms and 5 edges connecting a PTSD node with STBs varied between groups. None of the edges connected to reexperiencing symptoms differed between groups.
Discussion: Results suggest PTSD network structure and their relationship to STBs may vary between White/Caucasians and POCs. Given depression, anxiety, alcohol and substance use symptoms differed between POCs and White/Caucasians in this sample, the impact of the invariance of other psychopathology should be considered, as well as other relevant constructs (e.g., discrimination, stigma).