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Parameters of Aggressive Behavior in a Treatment-Seeking Sample of Military Personnel: A Secondary Analysis of Three Randomized Controlled Trials of Evidence-Based PTSD Treatments.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Berke, DS; Carney, JR; Rusowicz-Orazem, L; Kline, NK; Grunthal, B; Mintz, J; Yarvis, JS; Peterson, AL; Young-McCaughan, S; Foa, EB; Resick, PA ...
Published in: Behav Ther
January 2021

Aggressive behavior is prevalent among veterans of post-9/11 conflicts who have posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, little is known about whether PTSD treatments reduce aggression or the direction of the association between changes in PTSD symptoms and aggression in the context of PTSD treatment. We combined data from three clinical trials of evidence-based PTSD treatment in service members (N = 592) to: (1) examine whether PTSD treatment reduces psychological (e.g., verbal behavior) and physical aggression, and; (2) explore temporal associations between aggressive behavior and PTSD. Both psychological (Estimate = -2.20, SE = 0.07) and physical aggression (Estimate = -0.36, SE = 0.05) were significantly reduced from baseline to posttreatment follow-up. Lagged PTSD symptom reduction was not associated with reduced reports of aggression; however, higher baseline PTSD scores were significantly associated with greater reductions in psychological aggression (exclusively; ß = -0.67, 95% CI = -1.05, -0.30, SE = -3.49). Findings reveal that service members receiving PTSD treatment report substantial collateral changes in psychological aggression over time, particularly for participants with greater PTSD symptom severity. Clinicians should consider cotherapies or alternative ways of targeting physical aggression among service members with PTSD and alternative approaches to reduce psychological aggression among service members with relatively low PTSD symptom severity when considering evidence-based PTSD treatments.

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Published In

Behav Ther

DOI

EISSN

1878-1888

Publication Date

January 2021

Volume

52

Issue

1

Start / End Page

136 / 148

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Veterans
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
  • Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
  • Military Personnel
  • Humans
  • Clinical Psychology
  • Aggression
  • 5203 Clinical and health psychology
  • 5202 Biological psychology
  • 5201 Applied and developmental psychology
 

Citation

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Berke, D. S., Carney, J. R., Rusowicz-Orazem, L., Kline, N. K., Grunthal, B., Mintz, J., … STRONG STAR Consortium, . (2021). Parameters of Aggressive Behavior in a Treatment-Seeking Sample of Military Personnel: A Secondary Analysis of Three Randomized Controlled Trials of Evidence-Based PTSD Treatments. Behav Ther, 52(1), 136–148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2020.03.007
Berke, Danielle S., Jessica R. Carney, Luke Rusowicz-Orazem, Nora K. Kline, Breanna Grunthal, Jim Mintz, Jeffrey S. Yarvis, et al. “Parameters of Aggressive Behavior in a Treatment-Seeking Sample of Military Personnel: A Secondary Analysis of Three Randomized Controlled Trials of Evidence-Based PTSD Treatments.Behav Ther 52, no. 1 (January 2021): 136–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2020.03.007.
Berke, Danielle S., et al. “Parameters of Aggressive Behavior in a Treatment-Seeking Sample of Military Personnel: A Secondary Analysis of Three Randomized Controlled Trials of Evidence-Based PTSD Treatments.Behav Ther, vol. 52, no. 1, Jan. 2021, pp. 136–48. Pubmed, doi:10.1016/j.beth.2020.03.007.
Berke DS, Carney JR, Rusowicz-Orazem L, Kline NK, Grunthal B, Mintz J, Yarvis JS, Peterson AL, Young-McCaughan S, Foa EB, Resick PA, Litz BT, STRONG STAR Consortium. Parameters of Aggressive Behavior in a Treatment-Seeking Sample of Military Personnel: A Secondary Analysis of Three Randomized Controlled Trials of Evidence-Based PTSD Treatments. Behav Ther. 2021 Jan;52(1):136–148.
Journal cover image

Published In

Behav Ther

DOI

EISSN

1878-1888

Publication Date

January 2021

Volume

52

Issue

1

Start / End Page

136 / 148

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Veterans
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
  • Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
  • Military Personnel
  • Humans
  • Clinical Psychology
  • Aggression
  • 5203 Clinical and health psychology
  • 5202 Biological psychology
  • 5201 Applied and developmental psychology