Assessment of Risk Factors in Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

A 37-year-old woman, who is an intelligent computer programmer, presented with insomnia, restlessness, and anxiety. On detailed assessment, she reveals that the symptoms started after some thieves robbed their house 3 months ago. In the incident, they had killed one of her sons. She also experiences intense imagery related to the event and often wakes up after experiencing a nightmare. The woman feels uncomfortable talking about the event and requests not to talk about it. She had experienced another such incident when she was a child. She also received treatment for depression three years ago. Personality assessment revealed neurotic traits. No one else in the family developed such symptoms, even though all of them experienced the event. 

Risk Factors for PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder)

Risk Factors for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

The following description of risk factors also answers QID:919472837474

The best answer would be d) her intelligence quotient. The patient has developed symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, including the most specific “intrusive symptoms.” These have occurred after the life-threatening event she went through. Both the international classification of diseases and the diagnostic and statistical manual require such a precipitating factor for making the diagnosis. It is an event that is life-threatening, or according to the diagnostic and statistical manual, one that threatens body-integrity (e.g. rape). One may either be a bystander or directly threatened by the event. However, this factor interacts with other predisposing or vulnerability factors in an individual to trigger the condition. Genetic factors account for about one-third of the vulnerability, according to a study conducted on twins working in the U.S. military. Other notable predisposing factors include female gender, a history of anxiety or depression, lower levels of intelligence, neurotic traits, a history of trauma, and lower social support. Her gender, her history of depression, of experiencing a similar event, and her personality, may all have predisposed her to develop post-traumatic stress disorder. Low and not an elevated level of intelligence predisposes to post-traumatic stress disorder. Thus, her elevated level of intelligence may not have added to her risk.

FAINTS

•      Female Gender, Family History of Psychiatric Illness
•      Anxiety/mood disorder (history of)
•      Intelligence (low)
•      Neuroticism
•      Trauma, history of
•      Social support (poor)