A Bayesian network analysis of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in adults reporting childhood sexual abuse.

ABSTRACT: Background: The network approach to mental disorders offers a novel framework for conceptualizing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a causal system of interacting symptoms. Objective: In this study, we extended this work by estimating the structure of relations among PTSD symptoms in adults reporting personal histories of childhood sexual abuse (CSA; N = 179).   Method: We employed two complementary methods. First, using the graphical LASSO, we computed a sparse, regularized partial correlation network revealing associations (edges) between pairs of PTSD symptoms (nodes). Next, using a Bayesian approach, we computed a directed acyclic graph (DAG) to estimate a directed, potentially causal model of the relations among symptoms. Results: For the first networ

SUBMITTER: McNally RJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5632780 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature