Empathy in Post-traumatic Stress Disorder in Comparaison to a Control Population

Analysis of Empathy in Patients With Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Followed at the Hospital of Nice: Case-control Study

It has been shown in the literature that the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder influence the quality of life of patients, in particular through the cognitive alterations they can cause. Social cognition is also itself impacted. It refers to the perception, interpretation and processing of information relating to the social environment and relationships. It is affected by the symptomatology of PTSD both in terms of the response to emotional stimuli, the perception of self and others, and the quality of intimate relationships. These elements lead to reflection on the origin of these alterations, in particular the impact of PTSD on the patient's empathy capacity, defined as the recognition and understanding of the feelings and emotions of another individual. This parameter is also little studied in the literature, only a study dating from 2010 finds a correlation between PTSD and empathy. It is in this context that the realization of a new study studying the capacity for empathy of patients with PTSD in comparison with a control group with a larger and more representative population was envisaged. The primary outcome of this study is to analyze the post-traumatic stress disorder's repercussions on empathy by passing the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) on patients in comparison with a control group. The first hypothesis is a lower total score but a higher personal distress sub-score in the PTSD population. The secondary outcomes are to describe the cofactors that can influence empathy in association or not with post-traumatic stress disorder: sociodemographic data (age, sex, education level…), traumatic event type determined through the "Inventory of Traumatogenic Events", human intervention, duration and severity of the disorder (evaluated by the Impact of Events Scale) … The number of subjects required was calculated at 19 patients and 19 controls.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Post-traumatic Stress Disorder; Mental Disorder; Empathy
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Questionnary

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 38

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• France
  • Nice, France, 06001
    • CHU de Nice

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The patients included will be followed at the Hospital of Nice for post-traumatic stress disorder diagnosed according to the DSM-V criteria. They are volunteers, adults, French speakers. The control population will be randomly selected (advertising, social networks…), adults and French speakers too, having no follow-up or current psychiatric treatment.

Description

Any patient or controls who score positively off the diagnostic criteria for comorbidities such as major depressive episode, generalized anxiety disorder, psychotic disorder and autism spectrum disorder are not included. These criteria will be assessed through the MINI diagnostic interview and the Autism Spectrum Quotient.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Observational Models: Case-Control
• Time Perspectives: Cross-Sectional

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Control	Behavioral: Questionnary; The primary outcome of this study is to analyze the post-traumatic stress disorder's repercussions on empathy by passing the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI)
Patient	Behavioral: Questionnary; The primary outcome of this study is to analyze the post-traumatic stress disorder's repercussions on empathy by passing the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI)	The Interpersonal Reactivity Index is a validated self-questionnaire allowing the measurement of empathy from 28 items. For each item, five rating levels are proposed in the form of a Likert scale ranging from 0 ("does not describe me at all") to 4 ("describes me completely"). The IRI is divided into four subscales of seven items corresponding to conceptual adaptation (tendency to spontaneously adopt the point of view of others in daily life), fantasy (tendency to imagine oneself in fictitious situations) , empathic concern (tendency to experience feelings of sympathy and compassion in response to the distress of others) and personal distress (tendency to experience distress and discomfort in response to the distress of others.) The score of each subscale therefore varies from 0 to 28 and the total score of the IRI is between 0 and 112.	1 visit for inclusion

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 27, 2023
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 29, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): September 29, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 3, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 10, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): November 15, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 31, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 30, 2024
• Last Verified: January 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders; Stress Disorders, Traumatic; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Mental Disorders
• Other Study ID Numbers: 22-PP-19

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No