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Fatigue is known to interfere with function in individuals with physical disabilities. In order to monitor changes in fatigue over time and evaluate the efficacy of treatments, psychometrically sound measures of fatigue are needed. The aim of this work was to evaluate the validity of the Silhouettes Fatigue Scale with English instructions (SFS-EN) in a sample of adults with physical disabilities living in the USA. Individuals with medical conditions associated with physical disabilities responded to an online survey that included the SFS-EN as well as another validated measure of fatigue (PROMIS short form-4a Fatigue Scale), and measures of pain intensity and pain catastrophizing. 523 individuals participated (mean age = 59.1 years; SD = 11.4). Most participants were Caucasian (89%), women (59%) and unemployed (71%). Results showed strong positive correlations between both measures of fatigue, supporting the convergent validity of the SFS-EN. In addition, the magnitude of this association was significantly greater than the association between the scores of the SFS-EN and the measures of pain intensity and pain catastrophizing, supporting the former's discriminant validity. The findings extend previous results supporting the SFS as a brief, easy to administer and understand, and valid measure of fatigue. Fatigue is common in adults with physical disabilities and chronic pain. The Silhouettes Fatigue Scale (SFS) is a new single-item measure of general fatigue. Findings show that the SFS with English instructions (SFS-EN) is an easy to understand measure. Results support the convergent and discriminant validity of the SFS-EN score in adults with physical disabilities and chronic pain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experiential avoidance, dissociation, and guilt have been shown to be associated with trauma exposure and to play an important role in explaining the development and maintenance of posttraumatic stress symptoms. However, there is a lack of studies that simultaneously address the relationship between these variables, which has never been studied within the framework of emotional processing theory. Furthermore, gender differences in traumatic victimization, posttraumatic stress symptoms, experiential avoidance, dissociation, and guilt have also been reported. Therefore, this study had a double aim: a) to assess the mediating roles of dissociation and guilt in the relationship between experiential avoidance and posttraumatic stress symptoms; and b) to investigate whether gender moderates any such relationship. The final sample comprised 683 undergraduate students (150 men and 533 women) with a history of exposure to traumatic events and with posttraumatic stress symptoms. Mediation and moderated mediation analyses were conducted. Dissociation and guilt independently mediated the association between experiential avoidance and posttraumatic stress symptoms: however, this mediation effect was not moderated by gender. The findings suggest that interventions aimed at controlling psychological variables linked to PTSD (i.e. experiential avoidance, dissociation, and guilt) may be of help to both men and women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The identification of psychological markers of the posttraumatic stress reaction after a cardiac event is relevant in the management of cardiovascular risk factors. The aim of the study to test the contribution of experiential avoidance, anxiety sensitivity, and depressive symptoms to acute coronary syndrome posttraumatic stress symptoms and perceived health (both measured 6 months later), and to determine whether the associations between experiential avoidance, anxiety sensitivity, and depressive symptoms with perceived health were mediated by the posttraumatic stress symptoms. Design: 180 patients with acute coronary syndrome completed a survey over a 6-month period. Results: Anxiety sensitivity and depressive symptoms but not experiential avoidance contributed significantly to posttraumatic stress symptoms. Depressive symptoms and posttraumatic symptoms but neither anxiety sensitivity nor experiential avoidance had a significant association on perceived health. Acute coronary syndrome posttraumatic symptoms significantly mediated the association of depressive symptoms with perceived health. That is, increased depressive symptoms was significantly associated with higher levels of posttraumatic symptoms, which in turn predicted lower levels of perceived health. Conclusions: Understanding the psychological factors that are associated with post-acute coronary syndrome posttraumatic stress symptoms may help to identify patients at risk in order to refer them to the appropriate psychological care service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The author comments on the study "The Role of Associative Learning and Fear in the Development of Chronic pain - A Comparison of Chronic Pain and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder" by Derrick Sueki and colleagues published in the 2014 issue. Topics discussed include the unanswered relationship between PTSD and pain, the assertion that associative learning and responses to fear are attributed to neurobiological processes, and the characteristics of PTSD.