Association between exercise and posttraumatic stress symptoms among trauma-exposed adults
Abstract
The present investigation examined associations between intensities of exercise involvement and posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptom cluster severity (reexperiencing, avoidance/numbing, and hyperarousal). The sample was comprised of 108 adults (54.6% women; M age = 23.9, SD = 10.22, range = 18-62), who endorsed exposure to a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth edition, Text Revision) posttraumatic stress disorder Criterion A traumatic life event but did not meet criteria for any current Axis I psychopathology. After controlling for gender and lifetime number of trauma exposure types experienced, results indicated that vigorous-intensity exercise, but not light- or moderate-intensity exercise, was significantly inversely associated with hyperarousal symptom cluster severity. This study adds to the scarce, yet growing, body of exercise-PTS literature-by illuminating the inverse associations of vigorous-intensity exercise, specifically, and PTS hyperarousal symptom severity among trauma-exposed individuals.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In a cross-sectional analysis of community recruited trauma-exposed adults, self-reported vigorous-intensity exercise, but not light- or moderate-intensity exercise, was significantly and inversely associated with PTSD hyperarousal symptom severity.
“self-reported vigorous-intensity exercise, but not light- or moderate-intensity exercise, was significantly and inversely associated with PTSD hyperarousal symptom severity on a self-report questionnaire (Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale [PDS]; β = −0.22, p = 0.04).”
From Exercise Intervention in PTSD: A Narrative Review and Rationale for Implementation (2019) · cites this paper as [45]
The possibility that exercise could result in desensitization to physiological arousal cues in a clinical PTSD sample is consistent with findings that those who engage in vigorous-intensity exercise have fewer hyperarousal symptoms of PTSD.
“Nevertheless, the possibility that exercise could result in desensitization to physiological arousal cues in a clinical PTSD sample is consistent with the findings reviewed that suggest that those who engage in vigorous-intensity exercise have fewer hyperarousal symptoms of PTSD”
From Exercise Intervention in PTSD: A Narrative Review and Rationale for Implementation (2019) · cites this paper as [45]
Cites
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Williams, J. B. W., & First, M. B. (2013) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.104 · Cited by 109,841 · see citing works
Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences
Muller, K. E., & Cohen, J. (1989) · Technometrics · doi:10.2307/1270020 · Cited by 99,588 · see citing works
Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences (2nd ed.).
Lachenbruch, P. A., & Cohen, J. (1989) · Journal of the American Statistical Association · doi:10.2307/2290095 · Cited by 37,385 · see citing works
Compendium of physical activities: an update of activity codes and MET intensities
AINSWORTH, B. E., HASKELL, W. L., WHITT, M. C., IRWIN, M. L., SWARTZ, A. M., STRATH, S. J., O???BRIEN, W. L., BASSETT, D. R., SCHMITZ, K. H., EMPLAINCOURT, P. O., et al. (2000) · Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · doi:10.1097/00005768-200009001-00009 · Cited by 8,497 · see citing works
Foa, E. B., Cashman, L., Jaycox, L., & Perry, K. (1997) · Psychological Assessment · doi:10.1037/1040-3590.9.4.445 · Cited by 2,709 · see citing works
Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV
(2007) · Sage eBooks · doi:10.4135/9781412952644.n443 · Cited by 725 · see citing works
Ainsworth, B. E., Jacobs, D. R., & Leon, A. S. (1993) · Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · doi:10.1249/00005768-199301000-00013 · Cited by 348 · see citing works
Taylor, A. H., Ussher, M. H., & Faulkner, G. (2007) · Addiction · doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.2006.01739.x · Cited by 324 · see citing works
Reducing anxiety sensitivity with exercise
Smits, J. A. J., Berry, A. C., Rosenfield, D., Powers, M. B., Behar, E., & Otto, M. W. (2008) · Depression and Anxiety · doi:10.1002/da.20411 · Cited by 298 · see citing works
The impact of an exercise program on posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression.
Manger, T. A., & Motta, R. W. (2005) · PubMed · Cited by 138 · see citing works
Vujanovic, A. A., Bonn-Miller, M. O., Potter, C. M., Marshall, E. C., & Zvolensky, M. J. (2011) · Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment · doi:10.1007/s10862-010-9209-2 · Cited by 134 · see citing works
Self-citationThe effects of aerobic exercise on childhood PTSD, anxiety, and depression.
Newman, C. L., & Motta, R. W. (2007) · PubMed · Cited by 112 · see citing works
Diaz, A. B., & Motta, R. W. (2008) · PubMed · Cited by 64 · see citing works
Rutter, L. A., Weatherill, R. P., Krill, S. C., Orazem, R. J., & Taft, C. T. (2011) · Psychological Trauma Theory Research Practice and Policy · doi:10.1037/a0021996 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Physical activity as a moderator of the association between anxiety sensitivity and binge eating
Hopkins, L. B., Tart, C. D., Presnell, K. E., Powers, M. B., Baldwin, A. S., & Smits, J. A. J. (2012) · Eating Behaviors · doi:10.1016/j.eatbeh.2012.01.009 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Exercise and coping-oriented alcohol use among a trauma-exposed sample
Medina, J. L., Vujanovic, A. A., Smits, J. A. J., Irons, J. G., Zvolensky, M. J., & Bonn‐Miller, M. O. (2010) · Addictive Behaviors · doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2010.11.008 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Self-citationThatcher, D. L., & Krikorian, R. (2005) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2004.11.004 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
van den Berk-Clark, C., Secrest, S., Walls, J., Hallberg, E., Lustman, P. J., Schneider, F. D., & Scherrer, J. F. (2018) · Health Psychology · doi:10.1037/hea0000593 · Cited by 212 · see citing works
Exercise Intervention in PTSD: A Narrative Review and Rationale for Implementation
Hegberg, N. J., Hayes, J. P., & Hayes, S. M. (2019) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00133 · Cited by 154 · see citing works
“Nevertheless, the possibility that exercise could result in desensitization to physiological arousal cues in a clinical PTSD sample is consistent with the findings reviewed that suggest that those who engage in vigorous-intensity exercise have fewer hyperarousal symptoms of PTSD (45, 49, 53).”
Whitworth, J. W., Craft, L. L., Dunsiger, S. I., & Ciccolo, J. T. (2017) · General Hospital Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2017.06.012 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Whitworth, J. W., Nosrat, S., SantaBarbara, N. J., & Ciccolo, J. T. (2019) · Mental Health and Physical Activity · doi:10.1016/j.mhpa.2019.04.001 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Kinsman, L. M., Norrie, H. J., Rachor, G. S., & Asmundson, G. J. G. (2024) · Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences · doi:10.1007/7854_2024_500 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
- Authors
- Harte, C. B., Vujanovic, A. A., & Potter, C. M.
- Affiliations
- Boston University (US)
- The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (US)
- Temple University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Vujanovic, Anka A.
- Venue
- Evaluation & the Health Professions
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2013-07-17
- Volume
- 38
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 42-52
- ISSN
- 0163-2787 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-3918
- OpenAlex
- W2098001998
- Cited by
- 38
- References
- 17
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 2
- FWCI
- 0.74
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Evaluation & the Health Professions (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (F31DA021006)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Traumatic Brain Injury Research
- Keywords
- physical activity, posttraumatic stress symptoms, trauma exposure, hyperarousal, re-experiencing, avoidance and numbing, high-intensity exercise, exercise intensity, post-traumatic stress disorder
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Age Factors, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Severity of Illness Index, Sex Factors, Socioeconomic Factors, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Exercise, Racial Groups, Young Adult
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
