Affective lability predicts decreased habituation in posttraumatic stress symptom responding during a single laboratory session of imaginal exposure

Courtney E. Dutton, Christal L. Badour, Alyssa C. Jones, Emily R. Mischel, Matthew T. Feldner

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Affective lability, or the instability of emotional states, is associated with heightened levels of trauma-related emotional responding and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. However, the impact of affective lability, specifically on habituation to idiographic trauma cues, has yet to be examined among trauma-exposed individuals. The current study examined differential response trajectories to trauma-related imaginal exposure as a function of affective lability. Specifically, 72 women with a history of sexual victimization participated in a laboratory-based study involving a single session of repeated imaginal exposures to idiographic traumatic event cues. As hypothesized, participants higher in affective lability reported less reduction in trauma-cue elicited posttraumatic stress symptoms across exposure trials. Given these results, it will be important to continue to extend these laboratory findings to better understand how elevated affective lability is related to response to trauma-focused exposure therapy among individuals with PTSD or other trauma-related psychopathology (e.g., borderline personality disorder).

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)52-57
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Anxiety Disorders
Volume43
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 1 2016

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Elsevier Ltd

Funding

This research was supported by a National Research Service Award ( F31 MH092994 ) from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) awarded to Dr. Badour. The expressed views do not necessarily represent those of NIMH.

FundersFunder number
National Institute of Mental HealthF31MH092994
National Institute of Mental Health

    Keywords

    • Affective lability
    • Exposure
    • Habituation
    • PTSD
    • Trauma

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Clinical Psychology
    • Psychiatry and Mental health

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