Clinical Research Directory

Anger, Social Cognition and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder in Former French Military Personnel

Sponsor: Direction Centrale du Service de Santé des Armées

Summary

This is a single-center cross-sectional study conducted on a sample of former military personnel who had been diagnosed with PTSD. The main objective of this study is to test a mediation model positing that PTSD increases individuals' levels of anger through its detrimental effect on social cognitive abilities (Quantitative component). The secondary objectives focus on the impact of alcohol consumption and ACE on the three components (theory of mind, emotional decoding, empathy) of social cognition (qualitative component). A second secondary objective aims to explore the moral harms reported by former military personnel through a qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews (qualitative component). Primary Objective (Quantitative Component): To examine the links between PTSD, anger, and social cognition among French veterans using mediation analyses. The aim is to test whether PTSD (independent variable) indirectly influences individuals' levels of anger (dependent variable) through its effect on social cognition (mediating variable). Secondary Objectives: * Quantitative component: to examine other factors associated with PTSD that may influence social cognitive abilities, such as alcohol consumption and experiences of childhood abuse (Abuse Childhood Experience-ACE); * Qualitative component: to explore the psychological trauma experienced by military personnel through a qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews. Evaluation criteria: Main Components: Quantitative Component Self-report scales for PTSD, anger, and empathy, as well as two social cognition tasks: * PCL-5 - Posttraumatic Checklist-5 * STAXI-2 - Spielberger's State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2 * EQ - Empathy Quotient * MASC - Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition * TREF - Facial Emotion Recognition Test Secondary: 1. Quantitative component Self-reported scales of alcohol use, childhood abuse experiences, and anxiety and depression: * AUDIT - Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test * ACE-IQ - Adverse Childhood Experiences-International Questionnaire * HADS - Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale 2. Qualitative component - Content of verbatim transcripts from semi-structured interviews

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