Psychiatry Investig.  2022 Nov;19(11):927-936. 10.30773/pi.2022.0184.

A Study on the Factors Affecting Anger in Patients With Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

• Je S
• Kim K
• Namgung S
• Lee SH
• So HS
• Choi JH
• Choi H

• KMID: 2536199
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.30773/pi.2022.0184

Abstract

Objective
To identify the factors affecting anger in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients who underwent Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2).
Methods
We retrospectively reviewed patients who underwent CAPS and MMPI-2 at Veteran Health Service Medical Center, Seoul, Korea. Based on the CAPS score, the patients were divided into the PTSD group (n=46) and the trauma exposed without PTSD group (n=29). After checking the correlation between anger, CAPS, and MMPI-2 scales, logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the risk factors for clinically relevant symptoms.
Results
The PTSD group showed significant differences in schizophrenia-related symptoms, ideas of persecution, aggressiveness, psychoticism, and anger scales compared to the trauma-exposed without PTSD group. There was a significant correlation between anger, CAPS, and MMPI-2 except masculinity/femininity, disconstraint, and MacAndrew Alcoholism-Revised. In particular, anger has been shown to have a substantial connection with paranoia, schizophrenia-related symptoms, ideas of persecution, aberrant experiences, and psychoticism. Multiple regression analysis identified that the only significant risk factor for anger was the negative emotionality/neuroticism scale (odds ratio=1.152, p<0.001).
Conclusion
The PTSD group had increased anger compared to the trauma-exposed without PTSD group, and that negative emotions may be a risk factor for PTSD.

Keyword

PTSD; Veterans; Anger; Negative emotions; CAPS; MMPI