Award Date

5-2011

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Counselor Education

First Committee Member

Larry Ashley, Chair

Second Committee Member

William Cross

Third Committee Member

Dale Pehrsson

Graduate Faculty Representative

Laurel Pritchard

Number of Pages

38

Abstract

With the increase of female veterans serving in the military, a better understanding of posttraumatic stress disorder is needed to provide comprehensive treatment. This study examines salivary cortisol in female veterans with PTSD, female veterans without PTSD, civilian females with PTSD and healthy controls. The Posttraumatic Stress and Beck Depression Inventory-II were used to assess posttraumatic stress and depressive symptoms. Saliva samples were collected at bedtime and awakening, as well as in response to the Trier Social Stress Test. Significant results were not found for diurnal cortisol levels [ F (3, 11)= .979, p < .05] or stress cortisol levels (F (3,12) = 1.140, p >.05). Insignificant results may be due to low sample size, TSST schedule, and confounding anxiety.

Keywords

Hydrocortisone; Post-traumatic stress disorder – Treatment; Women veterans

Disciplines

Mental Disorders | Psychology | Quantitative Psychology

File Format

pdf

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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