Korean J Psychosom Med.  2023 Dec;31(2):155-164. 10.22722/KJPM.2023.31.2.155.

Idea of Persecution and Psychological Factors Associated With Idea of Persecution in Patients With PTSD

• Lee S
• Moon YK
• Lee S
• Choi H

• KMID: 2550611
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.22722/KJPM.2023.31.2.155

Abstract

objectives
：The aim of this study was to identify the factors affecting ideas of persecution 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 116 patients who underwent CAPS and MMPI 2 between May 2013 and April 2020 at Veteran Health Service Medical Center. Based on the CAPS score, the patients were divided into the PTSD group (n=63, age: 58.16±17.84) and the trauma exposed without PTSD group (n=53, age: 67.34± 12.05). After checking the correlation between Ideas of persecution, CAPS, and MMPI-2 scales, linear regression analysis was performed to identify the risk factors for clinically relevant symptoms.
Results
：The PTSD group showed significant differences in Schizophrenia, Ideas of persecution, Dysfunc-tional negative emotions, Aberrant Experiences, Psychoticism, Negative Emotionality/Neuroticism, Anxiety, Depression, and Anger scales compared to the trauma-exposed without PTSD group. When analyzing the correlation between Idea of persecution, CAPS and MMPI-2 scales, there was a strong association with most of the scales in MMPI-2 and Idea of persecution except Disconstraint. Multiple linear regression analysis performed in PTSD group identified that risk factors for Idea of persecution were Dysfunctional negative emotions and Anger scale.
Conclusions
：The PTSD group had increased idea of persecution compared to the trauma exposed without PTSD group. Dysfunctional negative emotions and anger may be risk factors for idea of persecution in trauma exposed population.

Keyword

PTSD; Veterans; CAPS; MMPI; Idea of persecution