A longitudinal examination of peritraumatic emotional responses and their association with posttraumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder among veterans

Abstract: Research has revealed a significant association between severalperitraumatic emotional responses and posttraumatic stressdisorder (PTSD). Preliminary research has also linked peritraumatic emotional responses with a diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD). The majority of this research has been cross-sectional, thereby making it difficult to determine the extent to which the various peritraumatic emotional responsesmay increase risk for, or serve as a premorbid marker of PTSD and MDD. This study examined the longitudinal role of peri-traumatic emotional responses on the subsequent develop-ment of PTSD and MDD in a sample of US military veterans. Whereas a number of peritraumatic emotional responses wereconcurrently associated with PTSD, only peritraumatic numb-ness maintained the association with this diagnosis longitudinally. For MDD, peritraumatic numbness was the only emotional response related to the diagnosis both concurrently and longitudinally. Study findings are a preliminary proof of conceptthat peritraumatic numbness may serve as a premorbid markerfor the development of PTSD and MDD following a traumaticevent. Implications of these findings for the diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of both PTSD and MDD are discussed.