Stability and chance in posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms following breast cancer treatment: A 1-year follow-up

While some recent research has examined the prevalence and severity of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-like symptoms following cancer treatment, no research has examined temporal change or stability in these symptoms in cancer survivors. Female breast cancer survivors (n = 46) participated in a n initial telephone interview and a follow-up interview 12 months later. PT SD symptoms associated with breast cancer were assessed using the PTSD Chec klist-Civilian version (PCLC). In general, PTSD symptoms in this population did not diminish over time. While group analyses indicated that PCLC-total and subscale scores were stable across the two assessments, analyses of PC LC scores indicated that many patients exhibited fairly large ( > 0.5 S.D.) increases and/or decreases in PCLC-total or subscale scores. Some evidence suggested that decreases in PCLC scores between the two study assessments were associated with greater social support and experience of fewer traumat ic stressors prior to breast cancer diagnosis. Most significantly, the rese arch suggested that women with greater PTSD symptoms at the initial intervi ew were less likely to participate in the follow-up interview. Implications of this for research and clinical management of PTSD in this population ar e discussed. Copyright (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.