Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2013 Jun;81(3):375-82.
doi: 10.1037/a0031523. Epub 2013 Jan 21.

The relationship between posttraumatic and depressive symptoms during prolonged exposure with and without cognitive restructuring for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder

Idan M Aderka  1 , Seth J Gillihan, Carmen P McLean, Edna B Foa
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

The relationship between posttraumatic and depressive symptoms during prolonged exposure with and without cognitive restructuring for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder

Idan M Aderka et al. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2013 Jun.

Abstract

Objective: In the present study, we examined the relationship between posttraumatic and depressive symptoms during prolonged exposure (PE) treatment with and without cognitive restructuring (CR) for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Method: Female assault survivors (N = 153) with PTSD were randomized to either PE alone or PE with added CR (PE/CR). During treatment, bi-weekly self-report measures of posttraumatic and depressive symptoms were administered.

Results: Multilevel mediational analyses indicated that during PE, changes in posttraumatic symptoms accounted for 80.3% of changes in depressive symptoms, whereas changes in depressive symptoms accounted for 45.0% of changes in posttraumatic symptoms. During PE/CR, changes in posttraumatic symptoms accounted for 59.6% of changes in depressive symptoms, and changes in depressive symptoms accounted for 50.7% of changes in posttraumatic symptoms.

Conclusions: This pattern of results suggests that PE primarily affects posttraumatic symptoms, which in turn affect depressive symptoms. In contrast, PE/CR results in a more reciprocal relationship between posttraumatic and depressive symptoms.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types