The generality of cognitive bias in acute stress disorder

Cognitive bias was investigated in acutely traumatised civilians with either acute stress disorder (ASD; n = 26) or no ASD (n = 24). Participants completed the Acute Stress Disorder Interview, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), the Impact of Event Scale (IES), and an Event Probability Questionnaire and an Event Cost Questionnaire that comprised items pertaining to (a) external harm, (b) somatic sensations and (c) social events. ASD participants exaggerated both the probability of negative external harm, somatic and social events occurring, and the adverse cost of those events more than non-ASD participants. Elevated probability and cost estimates were predicted by BAI and IES-Avoidance scores, respectively. These findings are discussed in the context of different patterns observed in other anxiety disorders, and interpreted in terms of network theories of posttraumatic stress.