Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government
Veterans Benefits and Health Care About VA Find a VA Location

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

HSR&D Citation Abstract

Search | Search by Center | Search by Source | Keywords in Title

The relationship of sleep quality and PTSD to anxious reactivity from idiographic traumatic event script-driven imagery.

Babson KA, Badour CL, Feldner MT, Bunaciu L. The relationship of sleep quality and PTSD to anxious reactivity from idiographic traumatic event script-driven imagery. Journal of traumatic stress. 2012 Oct 9; 25(5):503-10.

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.    Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions


Abstract:

Poor sleep quality has been linked to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study provided a test of how poor sleep quality relates to real-time assessment of anxious reactivity to idiographic traumatic event cues. Script-driven imagery (SDI) was employed to examine reactivity to traumatic event cues among 46 women (mean age = 27.54 years, SD = 13.62; 87% Caucasian) who had experienced either physical or sexual assault. We tested 3 hypotheses: (a) individuals with PTSD would report greater anxiety reactions to SDI than trauma-exposed individuals without PTSD, (b) poorer sleep quality would be positively related to anxiety reactions to SDI, and (c) there would be an interaction between PTSD and sleep quality such that individuals with PTSD and relatively poor sleep quality would report greater anxious reactivity to SDI than would be expected from each main effect alone. Poor sleep quality and PTSD were related to elevated anxious reactivity to trauma cues (sr(2) = .06). In addition, sleep quality was negatively associated with anxious reactivity among people without PTSD (sr(2) = .05). The current findings, in combination with longitudinal evidence, suggest that poor sleep quality following exposure to a traumatic event may be a risk factor for anxious reactivity to traumatic event cues.




Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.