An Examination of the Heterogeneity of the Relationships between Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Self-compassion, and Gratitude.

Previous research has found both self-compassion and gratitude to be protective against overall PTSD symptom severity. PTSD is a highly heterogenous disorder, however, and it is unclear if these protective constructs are differentially associated with each cluster of PTSD. The present study examined differences in the association of self-compassion and gratitude with the four clusters of PTSD as indicated by the DSM-5. Participants were 1424 trauma-exposed individuals recruited via Amazon's Mechanical Turk. The mean age of participants was 31.49 (SD = 11.25) years old, and 55.3% of the sample identified as female. A structural equation model (SEM) approach was used to examine relationships between factors of gratitude, self-compassion, and the four PTSD symptom clusters. A two-factor model of self-compassion best fit the data. Both factors of self-compassion and the gratitude factor were significantly associated with all symptom clusters of PTSD. Wald chi-square tests indicated self-compassion and gratitude to have the strongest association with Negative Alterations in Cognitions and Mood (NACM) PTSD symptoms. These findings may have important implications for treatment targets to reduce specific symptoms of PTSD, particularly in PTSD symptoms related to negative affect.