TRAUMA, COGNITION AND CHRONIC PTSD - A STUDY OF FORMER EAST-GERMAN POLITICAL PRISONERS

The investigation aimed to identify cognitive correlates of chronic Po sttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in former East German political pri soners (PP). The pilot study developed a manual for rating cognitive p rocessing during and after imprisonment. In the main study, blind rate rs rated semi-structured interviews with 26 PP without PTSD and 26 wit h chronic PTSD. The groups did not differ in conditions of imprisonmen t, or sociodemographic variables. The majority of participants with ch ronic PTSD reported mental defeat during imprisonment whereas those wi thout PTSD retained an autonomous frame of mind and did not give up. P articipants with PTSD described to a larger extent than those without PTSD an overall feeling of alienation fi um other people and a feeling of permanent change for the worse in their personality and lift. Part icipants without PTSD reported a greater oppositional political motiva tion prior to imprisonment. Mental defeat and alienation classified 90 % of the participants correctly.