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Narratives of the worst experiences associated with peritraumatic distress during the COVID-19 pandemic a mixed method study in the USA and Italy1.94 MB
Published VersionCC BY-NC V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Narratives of the worst experiences associated with peritraumatic distress during the COVID-19 pandemic: a mixed method study in the USA and Italy
European Journal of Psychotraumatology, Vol.13(2), pp.1-12
2022
PMID: 36247840
Appears in COVID-19 Research
Abstract
Background:
Although symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have been associated with the COVID-19 pandemic experiences, no study has explored yet the association of specific COVID-19 narratives with peritraumatic distress, the precursor of PTSD.
Objective:
To explore the worst experiences associated with peritraumatic distress during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Method:
Adult residents (N = 1098), from the US (n = 741) and Italy (n = 357), completed an online survey including socio-demographic data, COVID-19-related experiences, the Peritraumatic Distress Inventory and an open question on their worst experiences during the first period of the COVID-19 pandemic (April-May 2020). A thematic content analysis (TCA) was conducted on the answers to the open question and a classification and regression tree (CART) analysis was used to identify the themes that best predicted the clinical levels of peritraumatic distress.
Results:
The main TCA themes related to participants' worst COVID-19 experiences were anxiety, threat, loss, anger, stress and constriction. Threat was the most prevalent theme and correlated with experiences such as being quarantined, being infected and a loved one receiving the diagnosis. US participants' descriptions of their worst experiences related more to life-threat and loss, while Italians reported more threat to the world, stress, social isolation, and feeling trapped. In the CART analysis, the main predictor (79.9%) was perceiving negative effects from the COVID-19 crisis. Among them, a COVID-related threat to self-experience was the most robust predictor. In its absence, being deprived of resources or experiencing high levels of anxiety were other robust predictors.
Conclusions:
The study provided evidence of the utility of a mixed-method approach in conceptualizing experiences associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and the risk of traumatic symptoms. Its findings may inform healthcare interventions and policies for tackling the new challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Details
- Title
- Narratives of the worst experiences associated with peritraumatic distress during the COVID-19 pandemic: a mixed method study in the USA and Italy
- Authors
- Sabrina Cipolletta (Corresponding Author) - University of PaduaSilvia Caterina Maria Tomaino - University of PaduaMarjolaine Rivest-Beauregard - Douglas Mental Health University InstituteRam P. Sapkota - Douglas Mental Health University InstituteAlain Brunet - Douglas Mental Health University InstituteDavid Winter - University of Hertfordshire
- Publication details
- European Journal of Psychotraumatology, Vol.13(2), pp.1-12
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- Date published
- 2022
- DOI
- 10.1080/20008066.2022.2129359
- ISSN
- 2000-8066; 2000-8198
- PMID
- 36247840
- Copyright note
- © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
- Organisation Unit
- Thompson Institute
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991105745702621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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- Psychiatry
- Psychology, Clinical
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