Premium
Lung Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment as a Traumatic Stressor in DSM‐IV and DSM‐5 : Prevalence and Relationship to Mental Health Outcomes
Author(s) -
Andrykowski Michael A.,
Steffens Rachel F.,
Bush Heather M.,
Tucker Thomas C.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1002/jts.22005
Subject(s) - stressor , distress , mental health , lung cancer , clinical psychology , psychology , traumatic stress , psychiatry , cancer , medicine
Little research has examined how lung cancer survivors whose cancer experience met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ( DSM ) traumatic stressor criterion differ with regard to posttreatment mental health status from survivors whose cancer experience did not. No research of which we are aware has examined the impact of the revised DSM‐5 traumatic stressor criterion on this question. Non‐small‐cell (NSC) lung cancer survivors ( N = 189) completed a telephone interview and questionnaire assessing distress and growth/benefit‐finding. Survivors were categorized into Trauma and No Trauma groups using both the DSM‐IV and DSM‐5 stressor criterion. Using the DSM‐IV criterion, the Trauma group ( n = 70) reported poorer status than the No Trauma group ( n = 119) on 10 of 10 distress indices (mean ES = 0.57 SD ) and better status on all 7 growth/benefit‐finding indices (mean ES = 0.30 SD ). Using the DSM‐5 stressor criterion, differences between the Trauma ( n = 108) and No Trauma ( n = 81) groups for indices of distress (mean ES = 0.26 SD ) and growth/benefit‐finding (mean ES = 0.17 SD ) were less pronounced. Those who experience cancer as a traumatic stressor show greater distress and growth/benefit‐finding, particularly when the more restrictive DSM‐IV stressor criterion defines trauma exposure.