The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Psychological theories of posttraumatic stress disorder

Psychological theories of posttraumatic stress disorder
Psychological theories of posttraumatic stress disorder
We summarize recent research on the psychological processes implicated in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as an aid to evaluating theoretical models of the disorder. After describing a number of early approaches, including social-cognitive, conditioning, information-processing, and anxious apprehension models of PTSD, the article provides a comparative analysis and evaluation of three recent theories: Foa and Rothbaum's [Foa, E. B. & Rothbaum, B. O. (1998). Treating the trauma of rape: cognitive behavioral therapy for PTSD. New York: Guilford Press] emotional processing theory; Brewin, Dalgleish, and Joseph's [Psychological Review 103 (1996) 670] dual representation theory; Ehlers and Clark's [Behaviour Research and Therapy 38 (2000) 319] cognitive theory. We review empirical evidence relevant to each model and identify promising areas for further research.
0272-7358
339-376
Brewin, C.R.
55003522-1d9f-47e7-9aa0-0af2b7d26bcb
Holmes, E.A.
a6379ab3-b182-45f8-87c9-3e07e90fe469
Brewin, C.R.
55003522-1d9f-47e7-9aa0-0af2b7d26bcb
Holmes, E.A.
a6379ab3-b182-45f8-87c9-3e07e90fe469

Brewin, C.R. and Holmes, E.A. (2003) Psychological theories of posttraumatic stress disorder. Clinical Psychology Review, 23 (3), 339-376. (doi:10.1016/S0272-7358(03)00033-3).

Record type: Article

Abstract

We summarize recent research on the psychological processes implicated in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as an aid to evaluating theoretical models of the disorder. After describing a number of early approaches, including social-cognitive, conditioning, information-processing, and anxious apprehension models of PTSD, the article provides a comparative analysis and evaluation of three recent theories: Foa and Rothbaum's [Foa, E. B. & Rothbaum, B. O. (1998). Treating the trauma of rape: cognitive behavioral therapy for PTSD. New York: Guilford Press] emotional processing theory; Brewin, Dalgleish, and Joseph's [Psychological Review 103 (1996) 670] dual representation theory; Ehlers and Clark's [Behaviour Research and Therapy 38 (2000) 319] cognitive theory. We review empirical evidence relevant to each model and identify promising areas for further research.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Published date: 1 May 2003

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 507919
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/507919
ISSN: 0272-7358
PURE UUID: 36f26e35-cf35-4f0a-a107-2f70419296b8
ORCID for E.A. Holmes: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-7319-3112

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 07 Jan 2026 17:56
Last modified: 08 Jan 2026 03:28

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: C.R. Brewin
Author: E.A. Holmes ORCID iD

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×