Browsing by Author "Marx, Melanie"

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    An examination of differences in psychological resilience between social anxiety disorder and posttraumaic stress disorder in the context of early childhood trauma
    (Frontiers, 2017-12) Marx, Melanie; Young, Susanne Y.; Harvey, Justin; Rosenstein, David; Seedat, Soraya
    ENGLISH SUMMARY : Background: Much of the research on anxiety disorders has focused on associated risk factors with less attention paid to factors such as resilience that may mitigate risk or offer protection in the face of psychopathology. Objective: This study sought to compare resilience in individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and social anxiety disorder (SAD) relative to age-, gender- and education- matched individuals with no psychiatric disorder. We further assessed the correlation of resilience scores with childhood trauma severity and type. Method: The sample comprised of 93 participants, 40 with SAD with childhood trauma), 22 with PTSD with childhood trauma, and 31 with no psychiatric disorder (i.e., healthy matched controls). Participants were administered the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS), Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS), Childhood Trauma Questionnaire—Short Form (CTQ-SF), and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). The mean age of participants was 34 years (SD = 11). 52 Participants were female (55.9%) and 54 Caucasian (58.1%). Analysis of variance was used to assess for significant group differences in resilience scores. Non-parametric correlation analyses were conducted for resilience and different types of childhood trauma. Results: There were significant differences in resilience between the SAD and PTSD groups with childhood trauma, and controls. Both disorder groups had significantly lower levels of resilience than healthy controls. No significant correlation was found between total resilience scores and childhood trauma scores in the childhood trauma (SAD and PTSD) groups. However, in the combined dataset (SAD, PTSD, healthy controls), significant negative correlations were found between resilience scores and emotional abuse, emotional neglect, and total childhood trauma scores. Conclusions: Patients who have PTSD and SAD with childhood trauma appear to be significantly less resilient than those with no disorder. Assessing and addressing resilience in these disorders, particularly when childhood trauma is present,may facilitate long-term recovery and warrants further investigation.
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    Hormones in hair as possible predictive biomarkers of posttraumatic stress symptoms in women who have been raped
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2020-12) Marx, Melanie; Seedat, Soraya, 1966-; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dept. of Psychiatry.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY: There is a gap in the literature with regard to researching long-term secretion of cortisol, as well as other hormones (cortisone, testosterone, progesterone, and dehydroepiandrosterone [DHEA]) in hair samples of women with posttraumatic stress symptomatology (PTSS) and who have been victims of rape. Cortisol and other steroid hormones measured in hair over a longer time window may be predictive biomarkers of PTSS. This longitudinal study, based in Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN), compared hormone concentrations between groups (rape-exposed [RE] and controls) over time. The first time point was at the baseline visit (samples and data collected within 20 days post rape), which provided an approximate three-month window of hormone concentrations, preceding the rape trauma. The second sampling was at three months post rape and this covered the window between the baseline assessment and three months post rape. The last time point was at six months post rape, providing concentrations in the window between three- and six months post rape. Furthermore, the present study sought to examine differences in PTSS between and within groups at different time-points (baseline, three months, and six months post rape). The third aim of the present study was to conduct an analysis of temporal correlations between PTSS and hormones, as measured at baseline, three months, and six months post rape. Lastly, the study sought to establish whether pre-trauma hormone concentrations were predictive of the development of PTSS at baseline, three months and six months post rape. There were no significant differences between groups at different time-points (baseline, three months, and six months) with regard to hair hormone concentrations. There were significant differences in PTSS between groups, and several, but weak, significant correlations were found between hormone concentrations and PTSS, as well as PTSD symptom clusters (reexperiencing/ intrusion symptoms, avoidance/numbing symptoms, hyperarousal, as measured by the Davidson Trauma Scale [DTS]). Pre-trauma cortisol concentrations were significantly correlated with baseline (within 20 days post rape) total PTSD symptoms, reexperiencing/ intrusion symptoms, avoidance/numbing symptoms, hyperarousal. Cortisone concentrations, as measured at six months (i.e. from three to six months post rape) significantly correlated with avoidance/numbing symptoms at three months post rape. A significant, but weak, negative correlation was found between dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) concentrations as measured at three months (i.e. from baseline to three months post rape) and reexperiencing/ intrusions at three months post rape. A significant, but weak, positive correlation was found between DHEA as measured at six months (i.e. from three to six months post rape) and total PTSS, as well as re experiencing/intrusion symptoms at three months post rape. Hormone concentrations were not predictive of the development of PTSS. Within 20 days post rape, three significant predictors of PTSS were identified. The strongest predictor of PTSS was depression, followed by previous trauma (trauma load / cumulative trauma), and perceived stress. At three-month follow-up, the strongest predictor of PTSS was trauma load, followed by depression. At six-month follow-up, no significant predictors of PTSS were identified. This is the first study to examine hair cortisol and other hair hormone concentrations in female rape victims with PTSS compared to controls.