1. Brian Thompson, PhD, & Jennifer Waltz, PhD ACBS World Conference June 24, 2010

2.  Criterion A: Trauma exposure.  Criterion B: Reexperiencing symptoms.  Criterion C: Avoidance and Emotional Numbing symptoms.  Criterion D: Hyperarousal symptoms.  Criterion E: Symptoms > 1 month.  Criterion F: Clinically significant impairment across areas of functioning.

3.  An unwillingness to remain in contact with and taking steps to alter private experiences (e.g., thoughts, emotions, physiological sensations). ◦ EA and PTSD (Polusny & Follette, 1995; Rosenthal, Hall, Palm, Batten, & Follette, 2005; Tull, Gratz, Salters, & Roemer, 2004; Vujanovic, Youngwirth, Johnson, & Zvolensky, 2009 ).

4.  In PTSD literature: ◦ Alexithymia (e.g., Badura, 2003; Frewen et al., 2008; Fukunishi et al., 1996 Kosten et al., 1992; Söndergaard & Theorell, 2004; Stewart et al., 2002). ◦ Thought suppression (e.g., Mayou, Ehlers, & Bryant, 2002; Shipherd & Beck, 1999, 2005; Steil & Ehlers, 2000). ◦ Avoidant Coping (e.g., Gil, 2005; Scarpa, Haden, & Hurley, 2006).

5.  Two components ◦ Contact with present moment ◦ Acceptance/Willingness  Antithetical to experiential avoidance

6.  Hypotheses: ◦ PTSD avoidance symptom severity will be related to higher experiential avoidance and lower mindfulness. ◦ Mindfulness will predict the variance in PTSD avoidance symptom severity above and beyond that of experiential avoidance.

7.  Measures ◦ Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale (PDS; Foa, Cashman, Jaycox, & Perry, 1997). ◦ Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ; Baer, Smith, Hopkins, Krietemeyer, & Toney, 2006). ◦ Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ; Hayes at al., 2004). ◦ Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20; Bagby, Parker, & Taylor, 1994a, 1994b). ◦ White Bear Suppression Inventory (WBSI; Wegner & Zanakos, 1994). ◦ Coping in Stressful Situations (CISS; Endler & Parker, 1994).

8.  Participants ◦ 378 Introductory Psychology students.  PTSD (n = 44); trauma-no PTSD (n = 147); control (n = 123)  PSS group (n = 191)

9. Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficients for PDS PSS Sample ___________________________________________________________ MeasuresPDS Avoidance ___________________________________________________________ FFMQ Observe.05 FFMQ Describe-.18* FFMQ Act-.32** FFMQ Nonjudge-.37** FFMQ Nonreact-.20** AAQ.34** WBSI.42** TAS Factor 1.48** TAS Factor 2.32** TAS Factor 3.05 CISS Emotion.39** CISS Avoidance-.03 _____________________________________________________________ * p <.05, ** p <.01

10.  The AAQ and FFMQ. ◦ AAQ [p <.01, adjusted R² =.11] ◦ AAQ and FFMQ: [p <.01; adjusted R² =.17]  The TAS-20 Factors 1 and FFMQ. ◦ TAS-20 Factor 1 (identify feelings) [p <.01, adjusted R² =.23] ◦ TAS and FFMQ: [p <.01; adjusted R² =.25]  The WBSI and FFMQ. ◦ WBSI [p <.01, adjusted R² =.18] ◦ WBSI and FFMQ: [p <.01; adjusted R² =.21]  The CISS emotional coping and FFMQ. ◦ CISS emotion oriented [p <.01, adjusted R² =.15] ◦ CISS and FFMQ: [p <.01; adjusted R² =.19]

11.  PTSD avoidance symptoms were positively correlated with measures of experiential avoidance and negatively correlated with mindfulness.  Mindfulness—particularly, acceptance or nonjudgment of experience—predicted additional variance above and beyond experiential avoidance.

12.  Undergraduate sample.  Self-report PTSD measure.  Cross-sectional design. Thompson, B. L.. & Waltz, J. (2010). Mindfulness and experiential avoidance as predictors of posttraumatic stress disorder avoidance symptom severity. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 24, 409-415. brian.l.thompson@gmail.com