Trauma-related psychophysiological reactivity in women exposed to war-zone stress

Abstract

Women are at particular risk for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), but surprisingly little is known about their objective manifestations of the disorder's hallmark symptoms. Although research suggests that people with PTSD exhibit physiological reactivity to the presentation of trauma-related cues, the majority of studies to date have focused on men. We assessed the physiological reactions of three groups of trauma-exposed female Vietnam veterans (those with current PTSD, lifetime PTSD, or no PTSD) to war-related stimuli. Responses of women with current PTSD differed significantly from those without PTSD on skin conductance and systolic blood pressure, and mean levels of reactivity for women with lifetime PTSD fell between the other two groups. Although symptom severity was correlated with physiologic reactivity overall, results suggested differential relationships at the symptom cluster level. Study results replicate earlier findings with men and extend knowledge of autonomic reactivity to an important group of female survivors.