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
. 2009 Dec;1(4):269-281.
doi: 10.1037/a0017831.

Trajectories of PTSD and Substance Use Disorders in a Longitudinal Study of Personality Disorders

Meghan E McDevitt-Murphy  1 , Gilbert R Parra  1 , Carlos M Grilo  2 , Thomas H McGlashan  2 , Andrew E Skodol  3 , M Tracie Shea  4 , Shirley Yen  5 , Charles A Sanislow  6 , John G Gunderson  7 , John C Markowitz  8
Affiliations

Trajectories of PTSD and Substance Use Disorders in a Longitudinal Study of Personality Disorders

Meghan E McDevitt-Murphy et al. Psychol Trauma. 2009 Dec.

Abstract

This study investigated the co-occurrence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorders (SUDs) in a sample (N = 668) recruited for personality disorders and followed longitudinally as part of the Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study. The study both examined rates of co-occurring disorders at baseline and temporal relationships between PTSD and substance use disorders over 4 years. Subjects with a lifetime history of PTSD at baseline had significantly higher rates of SUDs (both alcohol and drug) than subjects without PTSD. Latent class growth analysis, a relatively novel approach used to analyze trajectories and identify homogeneous subgroups of participant on the basis of probabilities of PTSD and SUD over time, identified 6 classes, which were compared with respect to a set of functioning and personality variables. The most consistent differences were observed between the group that displayed low probabilities of both SUD and PTSD and the group that displayed high probabilities of both.

Keywords: PTSD; comorbidity; longitudinal; substance abuse.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Six-class latent class growth analysis solution.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Graphs of personality trajectories for three broad dimensions, by class.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. American Psychiatric Association . Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 4th ed. Author; Washington, DC: 1994.
    1. Broman-Fulks JJ, Ruggiero KJ, Green BA, Kilpatrick DG, Danielson CK, Resnick HS, Saunders BE. Taxometric investigation of PTSD: Data from two nationally representative samples. Behavior Therapy. 2006;37:364–380. - PubMed
    1. Brown PJ, Stout RL, Mueller T. Posttraumatic stress disorder and substance abuse relapse among women: A pilot study. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors. 1996;10:124–128.
    1. Clark LA. Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality: Manual for administration, scoring and interpretation. University of Minnesota Press; Minneapolis: 1993.
    1. First MB, Gibbon M, Spitzer RL, Williams JBW. Structured Clinical Interview for DSM–IV Axis I Disorders—Patient version. Biometrics Research Department, New York State Psychiatric Institute; New York: 1996.