TY - JOUR
T1 - Attention-control training as an early intervention for veterans leaving the military
T2 - A pilot randomized controlled trial
AU - Metcalf, Olivia
AU - O'Donnell, Meaghan L.
AU - Forbes, David
AU - Bar-Haim, Yair
AU - Hodson, Stephanie
AU - Bryant, Richard A.
AU - McFarlane, Alexander C.
AU - Morton, David
AU - Poerio, Loretta
AU - Naim, Reut
AU - Varker, Tracey
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors. Journal of Traumatic Stress published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.
PY - 2022/8
Y1 - 2022/8
N2 - Transitioning out of the military can be a time of change and challenge. Research indicates that altered threat monitoring in military populations may contribute to the development of psychopathology in veterans, and interventions that adjust threat monitoring in personnel leaving the military may be beneficial. Australian Defence Force personnel (N = 59) transitioning from the military were randomized to receive four weekly sessions of either attention-control training or a placebo attention training. The primary outcome was symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as measured using the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) at posttreatment. Following training, participants who received attention-control training reported significantly lower levels of PTSD symptoms, Hedges’ g = 0.86, 95% CI [0.37, 1.36], p =.004, and significantly improved work and social functioning, Hedges’ g = 0.93, 95% CI [0.46, 1.39], p =.001, relative to those in the placebo condition. Moreover, no participants who received attention-control training worsened with regard to PTSD symptoms, whereas 23.8% of those who received the placebo attention training experienced an increase in PTSD symptoms. The preliminary findings from this pilot study add to a small body of evidence supporting attention-control training as a viable indicated early intervention approach for PTSD that is worthy of further research.
AB - Transitioning out of the military can be a time of change and challenge. Research indicates that altered threat monitoring in military populations may contribute to the development of psychopathology in veterans, and interventions that adjust threat monitoring in personnel leaving the military may be beneficial. Australian Defence Force personnel (N = 59) transitioning from the military were randomized to receive four weekly sessions of either attention-control training or a placebo attention training. The primary outcome was symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as measured using the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) at posttreatment. Following training, participants who received attention-control training reported significantly lower levels of PTSD symptoms, Hedges’ g = 0.86, 95% CI [0.37, 1.36], p =.004, and significantly improved work and social functioning, Hedges’ g = 0.93, 95% CI [0.46, 1.39], p =.001, relative to those in the placebo condition. Moreover, no participants who received attention-control training worsened with regard to PTSD symptoms, whereas 23.8% of those who received the placebo attention training experienced an increase in PTSD symptoms. The preliminary findings from this pilot study add to a small body of evidence supporting attention-control training as a viable indicated early intervention approach for PTSD that is worthy of further research.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85127396946&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/jts.22828
DO - 10.1002/jts.22828
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C2 - 35355333
AN - SCOPUS:85127396946
SN - 0894-9867
VL - 35
SP - 1291
EP - 1299
JO - Journal of Traumatic Stress
JF - Journal of Traumatic Stress
IS - 4
ER -