Associations between executive functioning, personality, and posttraumatic stress symptoms in adolescent solid organ transplant recipients
Corresponding Author
Mary Gray Stolz
Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
Correspondence
Mary Gray Stolz, University of Georgia, 125 Baldwin Street, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorKelly E. Rea
Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
Search for more papers by this authorGrace K. Cushman
Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
Search for more papers by this authorLauren F. Quast
Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
Search for more papers by this authorAna M. Gutierrez-Colina
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Search for more papers by this authorCyd Eaton
The John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Search for more papers by this authorRonald L. Blount
Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Mary Gray Stolz
Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
Correspondence
Mary Gray Stolz, University of Georgia, 125 Baldwin Street, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorKelly E. Rea
Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
Search for more papers by this authorGrace K. Cushman
Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
Search for more papers by this authorLauren F. Quast
Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
Search for more papers by this authorAna M. Gutierrez-Colina
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Search for more papers by this authorCyd Eaton
The John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Search for more papers by this authorRonald L. Blount
Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Background
Pediatric solid organ transplant recipients are susceptible to posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), given the presence of a life-threatening chronic medical condition and potential for complications. However, little is known about what individual characteristics are associated with an increased risk for PTSS among youth who received an organ transplant. The aim of the current study was to evaluate PTSS and its associations with executive functioning (EF) and personality (i.e., neuroticism and conscientiousness) among adolescents with solid organ transplants.
Methods
Fifty-three adolescents (Mage = 16.40, SD = 1.60) with a kidney, heart, or liver transplant completed self-report measures of PTSS and personality, whereas caregivers completed a caregiver-proxy report of adolescent EF.
Results
Twenty-two percent of adolescent transplant recipients reported clinically significant levels of PTSS. Higher EF difficulties and neuroticism levels, and lower conscientiousness levels were significantly associated with higher PTSS (rs −.34 to .64). Simple slope analyses revealed that adolescents with both high EF impairment and high levels of neuroticism demonstrated the highest PTSS (t = 3.47; p < .001).
Conclusions
Most adolescent transplant recipients in the present study did not report clinically significant levels of PTSS; however, those with high neuroticism and greater EF difficulties may be particularly vulnerable to PTSS following organ transplantation. Following transplantation, medical providers should assess for PTSS and risk factors for developing PTSS. Identification of those at risk for PTSS is critical, given the strong associations between PTSS and certain medical outcomes (e.g., medication nonadherence) among these youth.
Open Research
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
Please contact the corresponding author for questions about data availability.
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