The relationship between maladaptive appraisals and posttraumatic stress disorder: A meta-analysis

Gomez De La Cuesta, Georgina, Schweizer, Susanne, Diehle, Julia, Young, Judith ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1455-2765 and Meiser-Stedman, Richard ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0262-623X (2019) The relationship between maladaptive appraisals and posttraumatic stress disorder: A meta-analysis. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 10 (1). ISSN 2000-8066

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Abstract

Cognitive models of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) suggest maladaptive appraisals play a central role in the etiology of this disorder. The current meta-analysis sought to provide a comprehensive, quantitative examination of the relationship between maladaptive appraisals and PTSD. One-hundred and thirty-five studies met study inclusion criteria and were subject to random effects meta-analysis. A large effect size was found for the relationship between appraisals and PTSD (r=0.53, 95% CI=0.51-0.56, k=147), albeit with significant heterogeneity. In studies using only the Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory or Child Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory, the effect size remained large (r=0.56; k=104). In adults, appraisals about the self had a large effect size (r=0.61), appraisals about the world had a medium effect size (r=0.46) and self-blame appraisals had a small effect size (r=0.28). In child/adolescent studies, large effect sizes were found for both “fragile person in a scary world” and “permanent and disturbing change” appraisals (r=0.54 and r=0.60, respectively). The effect size remained large in prospective longitudinal studies up to one year after trauma. There was no moderation effect for civilian vs military populations, questionnaire vs interview measures of PTSD, single vs multiple trauma exposure, or intentional vs unintentional trauma. The main effect size estimate was robust to sensitivity analyses concerning statistics used, study quality and outliers. These findings are consistent with the strong role for maladaptive appraisals in the aetiology of PTSD proposed by cognitive models. In particular, the role of self appraisals in adults was highlighted. Avenues for future research include more studies in child, multiple trauma and military populations and longer term follow up studies.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	posttraumatic stress disorder,ptsd,appraisals,cognitive theory
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Mental Health Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Lifespan Health
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	09 May 2019 09:31
Last Modified:	19 Oct 2023 02:26
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/70880
DOI:	10.1080/20008198.2019.1620084

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