OBJECTIVE Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is prevalent among U.S. combat Veterans, and associated with poor health and wellbeing. As combat experiences are likely to significantly modify self-, other-, and society-oriented cognitions and heighten risk for PTSD, examination of related cognitive processes may yield new treatment strategies. The cognitive model of PTSD suggests that persistent threat perceptions contribute to symptom worsening. Thus, cognitive processes of shifting perspectives or generating novel interpretations may be particularly relevant to lessen PTSD symptoms. This cross-sectional study examined executive functioning as a moderator to the relationship between combat exposure and PTSD symptom clusters among post-9/11 Veterans. METHOD Data from 168 Veterans were drawn from a larger study examining post-deployment mental health and cognitive function. An executive functioning composite derived from Wisconsin Card Sorting Test Perseveration Errors, WAIS-III Similarities, Trail Making Test B, and Stroop Color-Word Inhibition scores was computed. Path analysis was used to test the moderation model. RESULTS After accounting for age, sex, and estimated premorbid functioning, results indicated that combat exposure was associated with all symptom clusters on the PTSD Checklist-Military. Executive functioning was not significantly associated with the PTSD symptom clusters and did not moderate the relationship between combat exposure and any of the PTSD symptom clusters. CONCLUSIONS Combat exposure is an important dimension of risk related to PTSD in Veterans that warrants regular screening. Moderation by executive functioning was not observed despite theoretical support. Future work could test methodological and sampling reasons for this finding to determine if theoretical adjustment is necessary.

中文翻译：

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执行功能复合体不会调节战斗暴露与创伤后应激障碍症状群之间的关系。

目的 创伤后应激障碍 (PTSD) 在美国退伍军人中普遍存在，并与健康状况不佳有关。由于战斗经历可能会显着改变以自我、他人和社会为导向的认知，并增加创伤后应激障碍的风险，因此对相关认知过程的检查可能会产生新的治疗策略。创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）的认知模型表明，持续的威胁感知会导致症状恶化。因此，转变观点或产生新的解释的认知过程可能与减轻创伤后应激障碍症状特别相关。这项横断面研究考察了 9/11 事件后退伍军人的执行功能作为战斗暴露与 PTSD 症状群之间关系的调节因素。方法 来自 168 名退伍军人的数据来自一项检查部署后心理健康和认知功能的大型研究。计算了从威斯康星州卡片分类测试坚持错误、WAIS-III 相似性、轨迹制作测试 B 和斯特鲁普颜色词抑制分数得出的执行功能综合结果。使用路径分析来测试调节模型。结果在考虑了年龄、性别和估计的病前功能后，结果表明，战斗暴露与军事创伤后应激障碍清单上的所有症状群相关。执行功能与 PTSD 症状群没有显着相关性，并且没有调节战斗暴露与任何 PTSD 症状群之间的关系。结论 战斗暴露是退伍军人 PTSD 相关风险的一个重要方面，需要定期筛查。尽管有理论支持，但并未观察到执行功能的调节。未来的工作可以测试这一发现的方法和抽样原因，以确定是否有必要进行理论调整。