The role of individual factors in predicting posttraumatic stress disorder

Abstract

This chapter will review the factors that contribute to the risk of PTSD in individuals who have faced a severely threatening experience such as an assault, an accident, or participation in war. It will review the epidemiological evidence, which shows that although most adults in even peacetime democracies have encountered such challenging experiences, most do not develop PTSD. The gap in rates between exposure to threatening events and the incidence of event-focused mental disorder is accounted for by individual differences in long-standing traits, beliefs, and aspects of personal history. The chapter will examine the role of important traits that include the ability to regulate emotions, as well as the presence of certain longstanding dysfunctional thoughts and beliefs. Additional individual differences arising from prior experiences, behavior, and mental disorder will be reviewed. © 2005 Springer-Verlag US.