Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a prevalent mental disorder in both men and women, and lifetime prevalence rates are higher in women. While there is growing evidence supporting an association between PTSD, hostility and health in males, few controlled studies have examined anger, hostility and health in women with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Anger and hostility are symptomatic of PTSD and there is ample data from epidemiological and laboratory data demonstrating that males with PTSD have greater levels of hostility than males without PTSD. However, comprehensive empirical assessment of hostility in women with PTSD is lacking. Similarly, although there are growing literatures examining the deleterious effects of hostility and physical health, and PTSD and physical health, the majority of this research has focused on males with PTSD. Our pilot data indicated that women with PTSD have higher self- reported hostility and decreased functional health status compared to women with other psychiatric diagnoses. The proposed project has three major aims: (1) to conduct a multi-modal (behavioral, interview based, self-report, and informant report) assessment of hostility in women with PTSD as compared to women with major depressive disorder and psychiatrically healthy women; (2) to examine the relationship between hostility and health parameters in women with PTSD using multi-method health assessment including self-reported health, health habits, functional health status, cardiovascular function measures during ambulatory monitoring and an anger task, and physician medical chart review; and (3) an examination of a recent model of the mechanisms between PTSD and disease including PTSD severity, hostility, cardiovascular function, health risk behaviors, symptom perception, and illness behavior. Seventy-five women with PTSD, 50 women with major depressive disorder (but without lifetime or current PTSD), and 50 women without PTSD or major depressive disorder will be recruited. Major depression was chosen as a comparison group as a number of studies have documented both increased hostility among depressed patients and a strong association between depression and health outcomes. The proposed study will important information regarding the relationship between hostility, other risk factors (e.g., poor health habits) and health in a relatively understudied sample.
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