Attrition in Interpersonal Psychotherapy Among Women With Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Following Sexual Assault

Author(s):Show less -

Proenca, Cecilia R. ^[1] ; Markowitz, John C. ^[2] ; Prado, Euthymia A. ^[1] ; Braga, Rosaly ^[1] ; Coimbra, Bruno M. ^[1] ; Mello, Thays F. ^[1] ; Maciel, Mariana R. ^[1] ; Pupo, Mariana ^[1] ; Povoa, Juliana ^[1] ; Mello, Andrea F. ^[1] ; Mello, Marcelo F. ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Fed Univ Sao Paulo UNIFESP, Dept Psychiat, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Columbia Univ, New York State Psychiat Inst, New York, NY - USA

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY; v. 10, SEP 13 2019.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Background: An estimated 16.9% of adult Brazilian women experience sexual assault in their lifetime. Almost half of women who suffer such trauma develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Markowitz et al. (2015) found that an affect-focused non-exposure therapy, Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT), adapted to treat PTSD (IPT-PTSD) had similar efficacy to and lower dropout rates than Prolonged Exposure (PE), the ``gold standard,{''} most studied exposure therapy for PTSD. Objective: To assess attrition rates in IPT of sexually assaulted women recently diagnosed with PTSD. Methods: The current study derives from a two-arm, randomized controlled clinical trial of sexually assaulted women with PTSD who received 14 weeks of standardized treatment with either IPT-PTSD or sertraline. Sample: The 32 patients in the IPT treatment arm were analyzed. Results: Overall attrition was 29%. One patient was withdrawn because of suicidal risk; four dropped out pre-treatment, and five dropped out during IPT-PTSD. If the excluded patient is considered a dropout, the rate increases to 31%. Discussion: This is the first formal study of IPT for PTSD specifically due to sexual assault. IPT attrition approximated dropout rates in PE studies, which are often around 30%, and to the sertraline group in our study (34.5%). Further research should compare IPT and PE among sexually assaulted women to clarify our hypothesis that IPT could be an attractive alternative approach for this patient group. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 14/12559-5 - Posttraumatic stress disorder and neuroprogression: new approaches to understand the effects of violence on mental functioning
• Grantee: Marcelo Feijó de Mello
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 16/22584-2 - Post traumatic stress disorder in raped victims: applicability of interpersonal psychotherapy
• Grantee: Cecília Roberti Proença
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master