Peritraumatic tonic immobility is associated with posttraumatic stress symptoms in undergraduate Brazilian students

OBJECTIVE: Tonic immobility is a defensive reaction occurring under extreme life threats. Patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) reporting peritraumatic tonic immobility show the most severe symptoms and a poorer response to treatment. This study investigated the predictive falue of tonic immobility for posttraumatic stress symptoms in a non-clinical sample. METHODS: One hundred and ninety-eight college students exposed to various life threatening events were selected to participate. The Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist - Civilian Version (PCL-C) and tonic immobility questions were used. Linear regression models were fitted to investigate the association between peritraumatic tonic immobility and PCL-C scores. Peritraumatic dissociation, peritraumatic panic reactions, negative affect, gender, type of trauma, and time since trauma were considered as confounding variables. RESULTS: We found significant association between peritraumatic tonic immobility and PTSD symptoms in a non-clinical sample exposed to various traumas, even after regression controlled for confounding variables (β = 1.99, p = 0.017). CONCLUSIONS: This automatic reaction under extreme life threatening stress, although adaptive for defense, may have pathological consequences as implied by its association with PTSD symptoms.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Portugal,Liana Catarina L, Pereira,Mirtes Garcia, Alves,Rita de Cássia S, Tavares,Gisella, Lobo,Isabela, Rocha-Rego,Vanessa, Marques-Portella,Carla, Mendlowicz,Mauro V, Coutinho,Evandro S, Fiszman,Adriana, Volchan,Eliane, Figueira,Ivan, Oliveira,Letícia de
Format:	Digital revista
Language:	English
Published:	Associação Brasileira de Psiquiatria 2012
Online Access:	http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1516-44462012000100011
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