Kirsten H. Dillon

Journal Article J Trauma Stress · December 23, 2025 Dysregulated anger is a prevalent concern for veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and is associated with negative psychosocial outcomes. The tendency to perceive ambiguous interpersonal situations as hostile, also known as hostile interpreta ... Full text Link to item Cite

Anger-Related Affect and Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Journal Article Clin Psychol (New York) · December 2025 OBJECTIVE: Growing evidence indicates anger-related affect (i.e., anger, hostility, and irritability) is a transdiagnostic risk factor for suicide. The goal of this meta-analysis was to systematically review the literature and calculate the effect size of ... Full text Link to item Cite

Accelerated Biological Aging and Midlife Frailty among U.S. Military Veterans.

Journal Article J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci · November 9, 2025 Injuries characterizing recent military service, such as traumatic brain injury and posttraumatic stress disorder, are linked to accelerated biological aging. If recent veterans have accelerated aging, they might also show early onset of aging-related phen ... Full text Link to item Cite

Posttraumatic anger in a national Sample: Demographic and clinical correlates.

Journal Article J Psychiatr Res · September 2025 Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is often characterized by intense anger and other negative emotions. This led to the inclusion of the experience of these negative emotions among DSM-5 PTSD diagnostic criteria. Though anger has been linked to a range o ... Full text Link to item Cite

The impact of trauma-focused psychotherapies on anger: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Journal Article Psychol Trauma · July 2025 OBJECTIVE: Anger is one of the most prevalent concerns among individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and is often a residual symptom following PTSD treatment. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to determine how effect ... Full text Link to item Cite

Physical Activity and Suicidal Ideation Among Gulf War Era Veterans.

Journal Article Am J Lifestyle Med · May 14, 2025 This study from a national sample of Gulf War Veterans (N = 1098) examined the association between physical activity level and (a) past-year suicidal ideation and (b) risk for suicidal behavior as defined by a score of > 7 on the Suicidal Behaviors Questio ... Full text Link to item Cite

Anger mediates the relationship between changes in alcohol use and violence: A longitudinal examination among Iraq/Afghanistan-era veterans.

Journal Article Psychol Trauma · February 27, 2025 OBJECTIVE: Interpersonal violence is a common barrier to reintegration into civilian life in post-9/11 veterans. Alcohol use and anger, also common among veterans, are both risk factors for violence. The present study used longitudinal data to examine rela ... Full text Link to item Cite

Examining the impact of brief couples-based posttraumatic stress disorder treatments on anger and psychological aggression in veterans and their partners.

Journal Article J Trauma Stress · February 2025 Anger can adversely impact functioning in veterans. Psychological aggression, which is related to but distinct from anger, is particularly detrimental to veterans' mental health. Research examining anger and psychological aggression following individual th ... Full text Link to item Cite

Development and refinement of the mobile anger reduction intervention for veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder.

Journal Article Psychol Trauma · December 2024 OBJECTIVE: Problematic anger is commonly reported among veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and is associated with numerous psychosocial impairments. There is a clear need to develop innovative and effective anger interventions. One of the c ... Full text Link to item Cite

Examination of PTSD symptom networks over the course of cognitive processing therapy.

Journal Article Psychological trauma : theory, research, practice and policy · September 2024 ObjectivesCognitive processing therapy (CPT) is an evidence-based psychotherapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD); however, little is known about how interrelationships between PTSD symptoms change over the course of treatment. The current ... Full text Cite

Enjoying the violence of war: Association with posttraumatic symptomatology in U.S. combat veterans.

Journal Article Psychol Trauma · May 2024 OBJECTIVE: Engaging in war-related violence can have a devastating impact on military personnel, with research suggesting that injuring or killing others can contribute to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and moral injury. However, there i ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Impact and efficiency of treatment across two PTSD clinical trials comparing in-person and telehealth service delivery formats.

Journal Article Psychol Serv · February 2024 The intent of this study is to examine treatment impact and efficiency observed when cognitive behavioral treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are delivered in-person or using telehealth. This study pooled data from 268 veterans enrolled in ... Full text Link to item Cite

Disorders Specifically Associated with Stress: PTSD, Complex PTSD, Prolonged Grief Disorder, Acute Stress Reaction, Adjustment Disorder

Chapter · January 1, 2024 The International Classification of Diseases and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published by the World Health Organization and American Psychiatric Association, respectively, identify multiple psychiatric disorders specifically asso ... Full text Cite

The Prevalence of Nonsuicidal Self-Injury in Military Personnel: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Journal Article Trauma Violence Abuse · December 2023 Military service members and veterans (SMVs) are at risk for self-directed violence, including nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI). While NSSI is an important construct worthy of independent study, it is understudied among SMVs and, when included in research, t ... Full text Link to item Cite

Examining the daily relationship between guilt, shame, and substance use among veterans with psychiatric disorders.

Journal Article Drug Alcohol Depend Rep · September 2023 BACKGROUND: Shame and guilt are key emotions known to amplify trauma-related symptoms in veterans. Maintenance of symptoms is facilitated by avoidance behaviors, such as substance use. However, limited research has examined the associations between shame, ... Full text Link to item Cite

Interpersonal stress and nonsuicidal self-injury disorder in veterans: An ecological momentary assessment study.

Journal Article Suicide Life Threat Behav · August 2023 INTRO: Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is associated with marked functional impairment and is a robust predictor of suicide attempts. Prevalence rates of NSSI, and self-directed violence more broadly, are elevated among military veterans. Despite the inclus ... Full text Link to item Cite

NSSI among military service members and veterans

Chapter · February 23, 2023 This chapter discusses nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) among military service members and veterans. Though NSSI typically emerges and is most prevalent during adolescence and young adulthood, research examining NSSI in service members-who represent a younge ... Full text Cite

French Adaptation and Further Validation of the Word Sentence Association Paradigm to Assess Hostile Attributional Biases

Journal Article Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science · January 1, 2023 Hostile attributional biases (HAB) are implicated in several interpersonal and mental health problems. These problems have been shown to be present also in French-speaking areas. However, French-validated assessments of HAB are few and present important li ... Full text Cite

Correlates of Incarceration History Among Military Veterans.

Journal Article Mil Psychol · November 21, 2022 Veterans with histories of incarceration are at greater risk for poor physical and mental health outcomes, yet prior research in this population has focused on specific subsets of veterans or a narrow range of predictors. We utilized the Bronfenbrenner Soc ... Full text Link to item Cite

Affective states and nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI): Results from an ecological momentary assessment study of veterans with NSSI disorder.

Journal Article Suicide Life Threat Behav · April 2022 BACKGROUND: The affective states most strongly associated with nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) remain poorly understood, particularly among veterans. This study used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to examine relationships between affect ratings and N ... Full text Link to item Cite

Psychosocial well-being among veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder and substance use disorder.

Journal Article Psychol Trauma · March 2022 OBJECTIVE: Concurrent posttraumatic stress disorder and substance use disorder (PTSD/SUD) in U.S. military veterans represents an urgent public health issue associated with significant clinical challenges. Although previous research has shown that veterans ... Full text Link to item Cite

Anger, impulsivity and wall/object punching in a sample of U.S. veterans with psychiatric disorders.

Journal Article J Psychiatr Res · March 2022 Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) has been identified as one of the strongest predictors of suicide attempts. Wall/object punching is a particularly prevalent form of NSSI among male veterans that has been linked to both impulsivity and anger. The objective o ... Full text Link to item Cite

In-office, in-home, and telehealth cognitive processing therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder in veterans: a randomized clinical trial.

Journal Article BMC Psychiatry · January 17, 2022 BACKGROUND: Trauma-focused psychotherapies for combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in military veterans are efficacious, but there are many barriers to receiving treatment. The objective of this study was to determine if cognitive processin ... Full text Link to item Cite

The Impact of Hostility on Quality of Life, Functioning, and Suicidal Ideation Among Male Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Journal Article J Trauma Stress · December 2021 Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often experience high levels of hostility. Although studies have found that PTSD is associated with poorer quality of life (QoL), increased functional impairment, lower levels of social support, and increa ... Full text Link to item Cite

A Comparison of Group Anger Management Treatments for Combat Veterans With PTSD: Results From a Quasi-Experimental Trial.

Journal Article J Interpers Violence · October 2021 Difficulty controlling anger is a significant concern among combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), yet few controlled studies have examined the efficacy of anger treatments for this population. This study examined the effects of a group ... Full text Link to item Cite

A network analysis of risk factors for suicide in Iraq/Afghanistan-era veterans.

Journal Article J Psychiatr Res · June 2021 Suicidal ideation (SI) is a prevalent issue in the veteran population. A number of factors have been identified as risk factors for suicidal ideation (SI) in veterans, including suicide attempts, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and drug u ... Full text Link to item Cite

Cannabis use disorder, anger, and violence in Iraq/Afghanistan-era veterans.

Journal Article J Psychiatr Res · June 2021 An association has been found between cannabis use disorder (CUD) and violence in several clinical populations, including veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and there is evidence that CUD has been increasing among veterans since September ... Full text Link to item Cite

Exploring the role of anger in nonsuicidal self-injury in veterans.

Journal Article J Psychiatr Res · May 2021 Up to 14% of veterans engage in nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) in their lifetime and this behavior is a relatively strong predictor of suicidal behavior compared to other identified risk factors. Further, NSSI is a clinically relevant behavior in its own r ... Full text Link to item Cite

Anger precedes and predicts nonsuicidal self-injury in veterans: Findings from an ecological momentary assessment study.

Journal Article J Psychiatr Res · March 2021 Veterans have high rates of suicide, and nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is one of the strongest predictors of suicide risk; however, there is presently little known about antecedents of NSSI that might inform intervention efforts. Accumulating research sug ... Full text Link to item Cite

Post-traumatic symptom severity mediates the association between combat exposure and suicidal ideation in veterans.

Journal Article Suicide Life Threat Behav · December 2020 OBJECTIVE: Previous studies of military veterans have produced mixed findings regarding whether combat exposure is directly related to suicidal ideation or is indirectly related to suicidal ideation via its influence on other factors. The present study use ... Full text Link to item Cite

Development of the Response to Fearful Situations Scale.

Journal Article Behav Cogn Psychother · November 2020 BACKGROUND: Most measures of anxious avoidance are limited to disorder-specific mechanisms and ignore the measurement of courage/approach responding in confronting fearful situations. AIMS: The purpose of the present study was to construct and validate a s ... Full text Link to item Cite

Using Interpretation Bias Modification to Reduce Anger in Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Pilot Study.

Journal Article J Trauma Stress · October 2020 Difficulty controlling anger is the most commonly reported reintegration concern among veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). One of the mechanisms associated with problematic anger is a tendency to interpret ambiguous interpersonal situations ... Full text Link to item Cite

Anger mediates the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder and suicidal ideation in veterans.

Journal Article J Affect Disord · May 15, 2020 BACKGROUND: Theoretical models and cross-sectional empirical studies of suicide indicate that anger is a factor that may help explain the association between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicide, but to date no longitudinal studies have examine ... Full text Link to item Cite

Weekly Changes in Blame and PTSD Among Active-Duty Military Personnel Receiving Cognitive Processing Therapy.

Journal Article Behav Ther · May 2020 Both negative posttraumatic cognitions and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms decrease over the course of cognitive-behavior therapy for PTSD; however, further research is needed to determine whether cognitive change precedes and predicts sympto ... Full text Link to item Cite

Changes in anger and aggression after treatment for PTSD in active duty military.

Journal Article J Clin Psychol · March 2020 OBJECTIVE: To examine whether treating posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) reduces anger and aggression and if changes in PTSD symptoms are associated with changes in anger and aggression. METHOD: Active duty service members (n = 374) seeking PTSD treatme ... Full text Link to item Cite

Associations between anger and suicidal ideation and attempts: A prospective study using the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions.

Journal Article J Psychiatr Res · March 2020 Suicide is among the leading causes of death in the United States, with rates having risen substantially over the past two decades. Anger is a common symptom of several disorders associated with suicide, and the little research that has been done in the ar ... Full text Link to item Cite

Commentary on "Associations between trauma exposure, PTSD and aggression perpetrated by women. A meta-analysis".

Journal Article Clin Psychol (New York) · March 2020 Full text Link to item Cite

Predictors of Treatment Outcome in Group or Individual Cognitive Processing Therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Active Duty Military.

Journal Article Cognit Ther Res · February 27, 2020 BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to examine demographic, psychological, military, and deployment variables that might predict posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom improvement in a sample of active duty service members who received either g ... Full text Link to item Cite

Anger in PTSD

Chapter · February 3, 2020 Over the past two decades, considerable research attention has focused on examining the role of anger in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Anger has been consistently associated with PTSD across populations, with the strongest associations found in mil ... Full text Cite

Depression Suppresses Treatment Response for Traumatic Loss-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Active Duty Military Personnel.

Journal Article J Trauma Stress · October 2019 There are multiple well-established evidence-based treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, recent clinical trials have shown that combat-related PTSD in military populations is less responsive to evidence-based treatments than PTSD in ... Full text Link to item Cite

Therapist stuck points during training in cognitive processing therapy: Changes over time and associations with training outcomes

Journal Article Professional Psychology Research and Practice · August 1, 2019 Many practitioners have doubts or concerns about evidence-based treatments. The objective of this study was to evaluate such doubts and concerns, or therapist stuck points, during training in cognitive processing therapy (CPT). Data were collected from 57 ... Full text Cite

The Impact of Military Status on Cognitive Processing Therapy Outcomes in the Community.

Journal Article J Trauma Stress · April 2019 Military-affiliated individuals (i.e., active duty personnel and veterans) exhibit high rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Although existing evidence-based treatments for PTSD, such as cognitive processing therapy (CPT), have demonstrated effec ... Full text Link to item Cite

Anger, social support, and suicide risk in U.S. military veterans.

Journal Article J Psychiatr Res · February 2019 There have been considerable efforts to understand, predict, and reduce suicide among U.S. military veterans. Studies have shown that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depression (MDD), and traumatic brain injury (TBI) increase risk of suicidal b ... Full text Link to item Cite

Using a Learning Collaborative Model to Disseminate Cognitive Processing Therapy to Community-Based Agencies.

Journal Article Behav Ther · January 2019 Although effective treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder exist, their use in community settings is disappointingly low. Training alone does not necessarily lead to adoption. To address this problem, we trained community clinicians in cognitive proce ... Full text Link to item Cite

Design of a clinical effectiveness trial of in-home cognitive processing therapy for combat-related PTSD.

Journal Article Contemp Clin Trials · October 2018 Approximately 14% of military personnel and veterans who have deployed to the combat theater are at risk for combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The treatment of combat-related PTSD in active duty service members and veterans is challengin ... Full text Link to item Cite

Examination of the indirect effects of combat exposure on suicidal behavior in veterans.

Journal Article J Affect Disord · August 1, 2018 BACKGROUND: Researchers have theorized that increased rates of suicide in the military are associated with combat exposure; however, this hypothesis has received inconsistent support in the literature, potentially because combat exposure may be indirectly ... Full text Link to item Cite

Six In Vivo Assessments of Compulsive Behavior: A Validation Study Using the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised.

Journal Article Assessment · June 2018 Due to the complex and heterogeneous nature of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), movement toward multimodal assessment has become necessary to more precisely understand the nature of the disorder and interrelations between symptom clusters. Thus, the pr ... Full text Link to item Cite

Actuarial prediction of psychotherapy retention among Iraq-Afghanistan veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder.

Journal Article Psychol Serv · May 2018 The present study aimed to identify predictors of treatment retention in a sample of Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation New Dawn (OEF/OIF/OND) veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who were referred for PTSD-focused t ... Full text Link to item Cite

Modification of Hostile Interpretation Bias in Depression: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Journal Article Behav Ther · March 2018 Interpretation Bias Modification (IBM) is gaining attention in the literature as an intervention that alters cognitive biases and reduces associated symptoms. Forty, primarily college-aged, non-treatment-seeking adults with major depressive disorder (MDD) ... Full text Link to item Cite

Association of posttraumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury with aggressive driving in Iraq and Afghanistan combat veterans.

Journal Article Rehabil Psychol · February 2018 PURPOSE: Aggressive driving contributes to the high rates of postdeployment motor vehicle-related injury and death observed among veterans, and veterans cite problems with anger, aggressive driving, and road rage as being among their most pressing driving- ... Full text Link to item Cite

Supplemental Material for Actuarial Prediction of Psychotherapy Retention Among Iraq–Afghanistan Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Journal Article Psychological Services · 2018 Full text Cite

Hostile interpretation training for individuals with alcohol use disorder and elevated trait anger: A controlled trial of a web-based intervention.

Journal Article Behav Res Ther · December 2017 High trait anger is associated with more severe alcohol use problems, and alcohol has been found to facilitate aggressive behavior among individuals with high trait anger. Treatments focused on a sample with alcohol use disorder with elevated anger could r ... Full text Link to item Cite

How should we treat post-traumatic stress disorder in active military personnel?

Journal Article Expert Rev Neurother · July 2017 Full text Link to item Cite

Cognitive factors in the development, maintenance, and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Journal Article Curr Opin Psychol · April 2017 Cognitive content and processes are central to theories of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In this paper, we highlight recent findings on cognitive factors in PTSD. Evidence for the role of negative post-traumatic cognitions in PTSD has continued to ... Full text Link to item Cite

Patient, Therapist, and System Factors Influencing the Effectiveness of Prolonged Exposure for Veterans With Comorbid Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury.

Journal Article J Nerv Ment Dis · February 2017 In contrast to concerns that cognitive limitations and neurobehavioral symptoms (NBS) associated with traumatic brain injury (TBI) may inhibit treatment effectiveness, a recent study found prolonged exposure (PE) led to large reductions in posttraumatic st ... Full text Link to item Cite

An Investigation of Treatment Engagement Among Returning Veterans With Problematic Anger.

Journal Article J Nerv Ment Dis · February 2017 Anger is a commonly reported problem among returning veterans, yet little attention has been devoted to studying treatment engagement among veterans who report anger problems but do not have posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study compares Iraq-Af ... Full text Link to item Cite

Measuring Hostile Interpretation Bias: The WSAP-Hostility Scale.

Journal Article Assessment · December 2016 Hostile interpretation biases are central to the development and maintenance of anger, yet have been inconsistently assessed. The Word Sentence Association Paradigm (WSAP) was used to develop a new measure of hostile interpretation biases, the WSAP-Hostili ... Full text Link to item Cite

Contamination-Focused Exposure as a Treatment for Disgust-Based Fears: A Preliminary Test in Spider-Fearful Women.

Journal Article Behav Cogn Psychother · November 2016 BACKGROUND: Disgust is thought to play a prominent role in multiple anxiety disorders and fears, including spider phobia, though little attention has been given to specific treatment strategies that may be effective for multiple disgust-based fears. AIMS: ... Full text Link to item Cite

The Associations Between the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form and Self-Reported Physical and Sexual Abuse and Posttraumatic Symptoms in a Sample of Incarcerated Women

Journal Article International Journal of Forensic Mental Health · October 1, 2016 This study examined the impact of posttraumatic symptoms and self-reported abuse on the MMPI-2-RF among female inmates (N = 212). Posttraumatic symptoms were related to demoralization and internalizing dysfunction. MMPI-2-RF scales related to behavioral an ... Full text Cite

Hostile interpretation bias in depression.

Journal Article J Affect Disord · October 2016 BACKGROUND: Research suggests an important relationship between interpretation bias, hostility and Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Extant literature has yet to examine hostile interpretation bias in clinically depressed samples; the current studies sought ... Full text Link to item Cite

Is worst-event trauma type related to PTSD symptom presentation and associated features?

Journal Article J Anxiety Disord · March 2016 Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is generally assessed with reference to a "worst-event" (index) trauma, though little research has examined whether symptom presentation and comorbidity differ across worst-events. Data from individuals meeting lifetime ... Full text Link to item Cite