The Association Between PTSD and Facial Affect Recognition

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often develops after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event that invokes feelings of fear, helplessness, and/or horror (Brewin  and Holmes, 2003). Litz and Gray (2002) stated that “chronic PTSD entails an admixture of intrusive negative affects and problems with emotional experience and expression” (p. 203). Correspondingly, investigators have found associations between PTSD and disrupted emotional experiences rangi ng from restrictions in the ability to feel or experience emotions and emotional responsivity (i.e., emotional numbing, Roemer et al., 2001) to experiencing physiological arousal and negative affect in response to memories of their trauma (e.g., Feeny et al., 2000; Milanak and Berenbaum, 2009).

Source: Psychiatry Research - May 5, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Christian L. Williams, Melissa E. Milanak, Matt R. Judah, Howard Berenbaum Source Type: research