Date of Award

2023

Degree Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Theresa Botts

Abstract

The current study sought to examine potential risk factors contributing to the chronicity of posttraumatic stress disorder. Participants consisted of 70 EKU students as well as veterans from Eastern Kentucky. Students and veterans voluntarily took an online survey and students received credit in their summer psychology courses. The PTSD Checklist-DSM5 (PCL-5) was used to measure PTSD symptomology and severity, the Life Events Checklist was used to measure types and frequencies of trauma, the revised UCLA loneliness scale and the Six-Item Lubben Social Network scale was used to measure levels of isolation due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Brief Hypervigilance Scale was used to measure symptoms of hypervigilance, the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire was used to measure experiential avoidance, and the Big Five Inventory was used to measure personality traits. Results supported the hypotheses with significant correlations regarding emotional numbing, hypervigilance, avoidance, agreeableness, and neuroticism. Implications of these results are discussed.

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