Learning Problems, Impaired Short-Term Memory, and General Intelligence in Relation to Severity and Duration of Disease in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Patients.

There are scarcely published studies that have addressed the relationship between posttraumatic period, and severity of PTSD in relation to the short-term memory and the general intelligence. The first hypothesis was that the longer the posttrauma period, the lower the short-term memory and general intelligence scores; and the more severe the disease, the lower the scores in these tests. The second hypothesis was that impaired short-term memory would predict difficulties with reading and writing in the PTSD group, and would reveal differences between the PTSD group and the control group with regard to learning difficulties. Thirty males with PTSD, and 20 males without PTSD participated in the study. Both groups were Arab and Kurdish refugees from Iraq who had recently settled in Sweden. The nonverbal short-term memory and intelligence tests were administered. Clinician-assessed interview for PTSD (CAPS), the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ), and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) were applied. The following partial correlations were found in the PTSD group (n = 30) between duration of PTSD and (a) Block Design Test (r = -0.42, p = 0.04); and (b) Benton Visual Retention Test (BVRT; number of rotation errors: r = 0.42, p = 0.04; number of distortion errors: r = 0.41, p = 0.05); and between Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices (RSPM), and Severity of PTSD (r = -0.42, p = 0.04). RSPM predicted Severity of PTSD. BVRT predicted Difficulties with Reading and Writing in the PTSD group. The results of the present study show that PTSD patients have learning difficulties and cognitive problems in proportion to the duration and severity of perceived life events and trauma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]