Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders (Lec. 2)

Question 1

stress

Answer 1

effects created within an organism by application of stressors; causes organism to adapt

Question 2

distress

Answer 2

bad stress; damaging, negative effect of stressors

Question 3

stressor

Answer 3

external demands that needs adaptation to be dealt with; either negative or positive

Question 4

Social Readjustment Rating Scale

Answer 4

self-report checklist method of measuring life stress

Question 5

Life Events and Difficulties Schedule

Answer 5

interview-based method of measuring life stress; rank chronic and acute stress

Question 6

Resilience

Answer 6

possible reaction to stressors; healthy psychological and physiological functioning after a traumatic event

Question 7

allostatic load

Answer 7

biological cost of adapting to stress

Question 8

SAM stress response

Answer 8

sympathetic-adrenomedullary system; involved in fight or flight response (hypothalamus –>SNS–>adrenal medulla –>norepi and epi)

Question 9

HPA stress response

Answer 9

hypothalamic - pituitary - adrenal system; involved in cortisol production (hypothalamus –>CRH–>anterior pituitary –>ACTH–>adrenal cortex–>cortisol)

Question 10

cortisol

Answer 10

the stress hormone; adaptive at low levels (elevated blood sugar and metabolism) but harmful at high levels (suppresses immune system and excess glucose)

Question 11

immune system

Answer 11

protects body from viruses and bacteria; compromised by increased chronic stress

Question 12

leukocytes

Answer 12

front line of defense in immune system; white blood cells

Question 13

cytokines

Answer 13

protein molecules that are important in the immune response for communication between CNS and immune cells; chronic stress leads to increased cytokine action (cannot turn it off) thus chronic inflammation

Question 14

Adjustment disorder

Answer 14

psychological response to a common stressor that results in clinically significant behavioral or emotional symptoms; symptoms appear 0 - 3 months post stressor and last up to 6 months post-stressor

Question 15

Acute Stress Disorder

Answer 15

psychological and physiological response that many individuals experience when faced with overwhelming threat; symptoms appear 3 days post stressor and last up to one month post-stressor

Question 16

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Answer 16

Extreme response to a severe traumatic event that involves actual or threatened death or injury; results in pathological memory; symptoms appear later than one month post stressor and last indefinitely

Question 17

PTSD symptoms

Answer 17

• Intrusion: intrusively experiencing traumatic event via nightmares, thoughts, images
• Avoidance: efforts to avoid reminders of trauma
• Negative alterations in mood/cognition: memory loss, negative emotions (shame, guilt), withdrawal
• Arousal/reactivity: irritable, agressive, reckless, hyperactivity

Question 18

Factors affecting likelihood of PTSD

Answer 18

Features of Trauma
Features of Person
Features of post-trauma environment

Question 19

Critical incident stress debriefing

Answer 19

immediate response to a traumatic event; brief directive treatment method conducted with small groups of trauma victims shortly after the incident to help them deal with emotional residuals

Question 20

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing

Answer 20

inducing rapid back and forth eye movements while reliving trauma; type of treatment for PTSD

Question 21

Exposure treatment

Answer 21

exposure to memories and reminders of original trauma either in vivo or imaginal

Question 22

DSM-V criteria for Acute Stress Disorder

Answer 22

• directly experiencing traumatic event
• witnessing event occur to others
• repeated extreme exposure to adverse details of traumatic event (ie. first responders)