Gregory Leskin

• Ph.D.
• University of California, Los Angeles

Stress, especially the extreme stress of traumatic events, can alter both neurobiology and behavior. Such extreme environmental situations provide a useful model for understanding environmental influences on human biology and behavior. This paper will review some of the evidence of brain alterations that occur with exposure to environmental stress....

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We evaluated the Families OverComing Under Stress program, which provides resiliency training designed to enhance family psychological health in US military families affected by combat- and deployment-related stress. We performed a secondary analysis of Families OverComing Under Stress program evaluation data that was collected between July 2008 an...

Outcomes Following TraumaApplication to Different PopulationsCentral Role of Meaning-Making to Postevent AdaptationClinical Applications from a Growth PerspectiveSummary

During wartime, military families and children make extraordinary sacrifices for their country. This chapter reviews the impact of wartime deployments and parental combat-related mental health problems on military children, as well as risk and protective factors that may serve to guide preventive interventions for military families facing multiple...

In this paper, we report on the development and dissemination of a preventive intervention, Families OverComing Under Stress (FOCUS), an eight-session family-centered intervention for families facing the impact of wartime deployments. Specific attention is given to the challenges of rapidly deploying a prevention program across diverse sites, as we...

The toll of multiple and prolonged deployments on families has become clearer in recent years as military families have seen an increase in childhood anxiety, parental psychological distress, and marital discord. Families overcoming under stress (FOCUS), a family-centered evidence-informed resiliency training program developed at University of Cali...

While it has been reported that persons with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) manifest tonic autonomic activation, the literature contains numerous counterexamples. In revisiting the question, this study employed a novel method of mattress actigraphy to unobtrusively estimate heart rate and respiratory sinus arrhythmia over multiple nights of s...

Combat2College: Facilitating College Success for Combat Veterans Bleiberg, J. (1), Leskin, G.(2), Sachs, R.(3), Pollack, S.(4), Haddad, S.(3), Reinhard, M.(4), Gough, J.(3), CDR Miller, L.(5), and HM1 Becker L. (5) Retrieved November 11, 2008 from http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/combat2college/ 1 National Rehabilitation Hospital, Washington, DC 2...

Despite research documenting high rates of violence during pregnancy, few studies have examined the impact of physical abuse, psychological abuse, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on miscarriage. Secondary analysis of data collected by the Chicago Women's Health Risk Study permitted an exploration of the relationships among physical abuse,...

This article describes a method for extracting heart rate (HR) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) from the kinetocardiogram (KCG) recorded from accelerometers embedded in a mattress topper. Validation has been performed via comparison with simultaneously recorded ECG. All-night estimates of HR and RSA magnitude derived from both methods were hi...

In this article, we review the literature on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and PTSD-like symptoms that can occur along with mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) and concussion, with specific reference to concussive injuries in the military. We address four major areas: (1) clinical aspects of TBI and PTSD, including diagnostic criteria, inciden...

Stress, especially the extreme stress of traumatic events, can alter both neurobiology and behavior. Such extreme environmental situations provide a useful model for understanding environmental influences on human biology and behavior. This paper will review some of the evidence of brain alterations that occur with exposure to environmental stress....

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients with comorbid panic disorder (PD) may express additive symptoms of central fear system disturbance. They endorse elevated levels of sleep and nightmare disturbance [Leskin GA, et al., J Psychiatr Res 2002;36:449–452], and demonstrate movement suppression during laboratory sleep [Woodward SH, et al., Sle...

Disturbed sleep is a common clinical problem in anxiety disorders, particularly in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and panic disorder (PD). Several studies have attempted to validate the subjective sleep complaints of these disorders using laboratory polysomnography. These attempts, typically focusing on PTSD or PD independently...

Resilience in Military Families As our country has engaged in the Global War on Terrorism, we have seen an increase in the operational tempo for active and reserve servicemen and servicewomen. The increase in activity results in a greater number of deployments in which military family members are geographically separated over prolonged periods of t...

Patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are frequently diagnosed with other psychiatric comorbid conditions. This study tested the hypothesis that PTSD patients suffer a greater proportion of sleep problems according to comorbid diagnoses. National Comorbidity Survey (NCS) data from 591 individuals diagnosed with PTSD were analyzed. Rev...

After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the Pentagon, the Department of Defense established a Family Assistance Center to provide a single source of information and services for the families of those missing and deceased. Twice daily briefings were conducted for families by top Department of Defense leadership so that information provided...

To corroborate findings from the National Comorbidy study with objective sleep data. Retrospective data review. Sleep Laboratory, National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Male Vietnam combat veteran. N/A. We reanalyzed laboratory sleep data obtained from subjects undergoing inpatient treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder. Comorbid pa...

The purpose of this article is to examine prevalence of lifetime traumatic experiences in a community sample of panic disorder patients. We examined trauma rates in a cohort of panic disorder patients. Also, we statistically disaggregated comorbid PTSD from individuals diagnosed with panic disorder in the National Comorbidity Survey. Panic disorder...

Several epidemiological studies have demonstrated a higher prevalence of panic disorder in women than in men. This study explored whether the prevalence of specific panic symptoms differs by gender. National Comorbidity Survey data from 609 respondents who met DSM-III-R criteria for panic disorder or panic attacks were analyzed to test for gender d...

Male inpatient veterans with chronic combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) participated in trauma focus group treatment and were assessed immediately before group participation and after group completion at time of discharge. Standard measures of core PTSD symptoms, depression, and anxiety were used. In addition, changes in PTSD symp...

The current study examined the concordance of combat veterans' scores on the Mississippi Scale for Combat-Related PTSD, with scores on a parallel version of that instrument completed by partners to assess veterans' symptoms. Further, the study examined the impact of quality of the marital relationship on score concordance. Bivariate and multiple re...

Elevated cholesterol levels have been reported in panic disorder and anger attacks, but not major depression. No data have been reported in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Seventy-three male Vietnam veterans with chronic (PTSD) had serum lipid screening upon entry to a 90-day inpatient program. Elevated cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, t...

The aim of this article is to provide a rationale for ongoing screening, detection, and treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other psychological sequelae following traumatic exposure. Evidence suggests that many patients with medical problems (e.g., chronic pain) and diagnoses (i.e., gastrointestinal) were found to have histories...

The aim of this article is to provide recommendations concerning the use of exposure-based therapy for reduction of emotional responding to traumatic memories. Background for these recommendations consists of a summary of the literature on traumatic stress and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD); an overview of biological, cognitive, a...

The Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS; Blake et al., 1990) is a structured interview that assesses the 17 key symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder ( PTSD) as established in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; DSM–IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994). CAPS data from 524 treatment-seeking male militar...

The aim of this article is to provide recommendations concerning the use of exposure-based therapy for reduction of emotional responding to traumatic memories. Background for these recommendations consists of a summary of the literature on traumatic stress and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD); an overview of biological, cognitive, a...

While flooding or direct therapeutic exposure (DTE) has been empirically validated as an effective primary treatment for PTSD through several randomized controlled trials, there is also evidence that relatively few trauma therapists actually use the technique. There are now several published reports which document a number of the difficulties in im...

It is widely accepted that therapeutic intervention is an important and effective component in the treatment of the sexually abused child. The goal of this study was to identify children who are at risk for not receiving mental health services following sexual victimization. Nine-hundred and seventy-two children were followed for 6 months, and inte...

A series of inquiries was conducted on the psychometric properties of the Los Angeles Symptom Checklist (LASC), a self-report measure of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and associated features. Data were drawn from various samples of individuals who completed the LASC in prior studies: Vietnam veterans (n = 300), battered women (n = 123), adul...