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Uncontrollability and Unpredictability in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: An Animal Model

Psychological Bulletin
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Abstract

The disturbances observed in animals subjected to unpredictable and uncontrollable aversive events resemble post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and thus may constitute an animal model of this disorder. It is argued that the similarity between animals' symptoms and those of trauma victims may reflect common etiological factors. Relevant experiments in which animals exhibit generalized fear and arousal, discrete fear of a conditioned stimulus (CS), analgesia, and avoidance are reviewed with the view that these manifestations may be analogous to the PTSD symptom clusters of persistent arousal, reexperiencing, numbing, and avoidance, respectively. Finally, animal paradigms are suggested to test the validity of the model and specific hypotheses are derived from the animal literature regarding trauma variables that are predictive of particular PTSD symptom clusters.
... A second theoretical perspective on PTSD is informed by animal models of neurosis (Foa, Zinbarg, & Rothbaum, 1992). Foa et al. (1989) viewed phobic avoidance as a primary symptom in PTSD and argued that PTSD is simulated in animals when avoidant responses are classically conditioned to environmental cues that had previously signaled safety. ...
... Foa et al. (1989) viewed phobic avoidance as a primary symptom in PTSD and argued that PTSD is simulated in animals when avoidant responses are classically conditioned to environmental cues that had previously signaled safety. According to their model, similar conditioning would tend to occur in humans under two conditions: (a) when a traumatic event violates strongly held knowledge (i.e., safety expectations) in a preexisting network of memories or (b) when the trauma occurs repeatedly (Foa et al., 1992). Consistent with the views of Foa and colleagues, cognitive theorists have concluded that traumatic events tend to violate previously held beliefs or expectations. ...
... Another problem for PTSD models is accounting for individual differences in responses to similar stressors. Foa et al. (1992) have noted that individual differences in information processing should render some people more vulnerable to PTSD than others. Other researchers have suggested that individual differences in cognition and coping may be important moderators of response to traumatic stress (Gibbs, 1989;Green, Wilson, & Lindy, 1985).' ...
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... This may reflect an underlying mechanism of a sense of safety, security and certainty as influential to refugee mental health. Conditions of safety and security in the aftermath of trauma exposure have long been recognized as being core conditions for good post-trauma recovery [163][164][165] . Fostering these conditions should represent a key priority for refugees in HICs and LMICs. ...
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... Perceived control is frequently discussed in conjunction with stressful life events, in which events perceived as uncontrollable are more distressing than those perceived as controllable (Foa et al., 1992). According to Skinner (1995), experiencing control is an innate and universal need for individuals to facilitate interactions with their environment. ...
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... There is emerging interest in the predictability of childhood stressors themselves. An abundance of human and non-human animal studies demonstrate that exposure to unpredictable stress is associated with poorer outcomes than predictable stress (Foa et al., 1992;Miller, 1981;Seligman et al., 1971;Weiss, 1970). However, there is a smaller body of research that focuses on how predictable stress may contribute to resilience. ...
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