Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in emotionally distressed individuals referred for a depression prevention intervention: relationship to problem-solving skills

Objectives This study examined rates of syndromal and subthreshold Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and PTSD symptom scores in participants with symptoms of emotional distress, subsyndromal depression and a history of traumatic exposure. Participants had been referred for a study of an indicated depression prevention intervention using Problem-Solving Therapy in Primary Care. We hypothesized that higher severity of PTSD symptom scores would predict poorer problem solving skills. In addition, some reports have suggested that there are higher rates of PTSD in minority populations relative to Caucasians; thus we hypothesized that race would also predict problem solving skills in these individuals.