Empathy in Post-traumatic Stress Disorder in Comparaison to a Control Population
Study Details
Study Description
Brief Summary
It has been shown in the literature that the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder influence the quality of life of patients, in particular through the cognitive alterations they can cause. Social cognition is also itself impacted. It refers to the perception, interpretation and processing of information relating to the social environment and relationships. It is affected by the symptomatology of PTSD both in terms of the response to emotional stimuli, the perception of self and others, and the quality of intimate relationships. These elements lead to reflection on the origin of these alterations, in particular the impact of PTSD on the patient's empathy capacity, defined as the recognition and understanding of the feelings and emotions of another individual. This parameter is also little studied in the literature, only a study dating from 2010 finds a correlation between PTSD and empathy. It is in this context that the realization of a new study studying the capacity for empathy of patients with PTSD in comparison with a control group with a larger and more representative population was envisaged. The primary outcome of this study is to analyze the post-traumatic stress disorder's repercussions on empathy by passing the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) on patients in comparison with a control group. The first hypothesis is a lower total score but a higher personal distress sub-score in the PTSD population. The secondary outcomes are to describe the cofactors that can influence empathy in association or not with post-traumatic stress disorder: sociodemographic data (age, sex, education level…), traumatic event type determined through the "Inventory of Traumatogenic Events", human intervention, duration and severity of the disorder (evaluated by the Impact of Events Scale) … The number of subjects required was calculated at 19 patients and 19 controls.
| Condition or Disease | Intervention/Treatment | Phase |
|---|---|---|
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Study Design
Arms and Interventions
| Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
|---|---|
| Control
|
Behavioral: Questionnary
The primary outcome of this study is to analyze the post-traumatic stress disorder's repercussions on empathy by passing the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI)
|
| Patient
|
Behavioral: Questionnary
The primary outcome of this study is to analyze the post-traumatic stress disorder's repercussions on empathy by passing the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI)
|
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcome Measures
- Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) [1 visit for inclusion]
The Interpersonal Reactivity Index is a validated self-questionnaire allowing the measurement of empathy from 28 items. For each item, five rating levels are proposed in the form of a Likert scale ranging from 0 ("does not describe me at all") to 4 ("describes me completely"). The IRI is divided into four subscales of seven items corresponding to conceptual adaptation (tendency to spontaneously adopt the point of view of others in daily life), fantasy (tendency to imagine oneself in fictitious situations) , empathic concern (tendency to experience feelings of sympathy and compassion in response to the distress of others) and personal distress (tendency to experience distress and discomfort in response to the distress of others.) The score of each subscale therefore varies from 0 to 28 and the total score of the IRI is between 0 and 112.
Eligibility Criteria
Criteria
Any patient or controls who score positively off the diagnostic criteria for comorbidities such as major depressive episode, generalized anxiety disorder, psychotic disorder and autism spectrum disorder are not included. These criteria will be assessed through the MINI diagnostic interview and the Autism Spectrum Quotient.
Contacts and Locations
Locations
| Site | City | State | Country | Postal Code | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CHU de Nice | Nice | France | 06001 |
Sponsors and Collaborators
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice
Investigators
None specified.Study Documents (Full-Text)
None provided.More Information
Publications
None provided.- 22-PP-19