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Original Article

Temperamental Traits and Severity of PTSD Symptoms

Data From Longitudinal Studies of Motor Vehicle Accident Survivors

Published Online:December 12, 2012https://doi.org/10.1027/1614-0001/a000074

Abstract

The paper presents the results of a longitudinal study of two groups of participants of motor vehicle accidents (MVA). They were investigated twice: The first time after 1–6 months (N = 362) or 12–24 months (N = 337) after a MVA, and then 1 year after the initial assessment. We assumed that, among the environmental variables (severity of experienced trauma, trauma-related prolonged stressors, other traumatic event and social support), two temperamental traits, emotional reactivity and briskness, would be factors influencing the severity of posttraumatic stress disorder. We also assumed that, after a longer distance from the MVA, temperament would be affected by symptoms of PTSD. Analysis of the cross-lagged effects confirmed the expectations regarding the “temperamental vulnerability” to PTSD in the shorter timespan after the MVA, indicating the process of “complication” and leading to changes in temperament under the influence of the disorder. Moreover, emotional reactivity was associated concurrently with higher levels of PTSD symptoms, especially in interaction with the severity of experienced trauma. Emotional reactivity and briskness also predicted changes in symptom severity, after controlling for the initial PTSD level and especially in interaction with trauma-related prolonged stressors. We propose implications of the results in our understanding “enduring personality change after catastrophic experience” as a diagnostic category in the ICD-10 and underline the significance of temperament as a factor influencing individual “vulnerability” to trauma.

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