The long-term objective of the proposed study is to improve the effectiveness of patient-treatment matching strategies aimed at trauma victims with alcohol problems by identifying patient subgroups with different alcohol treatment needs. As a first step in this line of research, the proposed study aims to test predictions that for combat veterans in treatment for PTSD, a history of childhood trauma and severe combat exposure are associated with more severe alcohol problems, as well as higher drinking frequency and lower self-efficacy for alcohol urge resistance in two specific domains: 1) When patients experience PTSD symptoms, and 2) in situations eliciting negative affect. The design of the study involves a between-group comparison of patients who differ in combat exposure severity (High vs. Low) and childhood trauma history (Abused vs. No Abuse), operationally defined here as pre-age 18 sexual and/or physical abuse. Participants will be 144 male and 40 women patients admitted to the National Center for PTSD at Menlo Park, a long-term inpatient unit for treatment of PTSD with a length of stay of approximately 4 months for the men and 10 weeks for the women. All subjects will be veterans with combat-related PTSD with no psychotic diagnosis. The general procedure for this two-year study will involve patients assessments occurring within 3 weeks of admissions and consisting of a one-on-one meeting with the project interviewer who will administer semi-structured interviews as well as questionnaires assessing trauma variables and substance use indices. A large part of the data for this study (e.g., assessment of PTSD, accompanying psychopathology, and family history of alcohol problems) will be drawn from the extensive assessment battery already in place and administered to all new patients admitted to the National Center for PTSD.
| Converse, Alexander K; Barnhart, Todd E; Dabbs, Kevin A et al. (2004) PET Measurement of rCBF in the presence of a neurochemical tracer. J Neurosci Methods 132:199-208 |
