3 - (SYM 48) Exploring Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Obsessive-compulsive Stress Disorder Symptoms Across the Perinatal Period: A Panel Network Analysis

Risk for internalizing and trauma-related symptoms increase substantially during the perinatal period. Obsessive-compulsive disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder are two disorders that commonly occur together during this time but have rarely been examined outside of cross-sectional studies or prevalence estimates. Using a panel network analysis, this study explored both inter- and intra-individual associations among dysphoria, PTSD, and OCD symptoms assessed at four measurement occasions across the perinatal period (i.e., pregnancy, four, eight, and 12 weeks postpartum) in a sample of 270 women. Panel network analysis enables the estimation of three different networks from longitudinal data: the between-person network, which contains associations between stable means at the interindividual level; the temporal network, which models directed associations among intraindividual deviations from person means; and the contemporaneous network, which models any remaining variance and covariance between symptoms after controlling for their temporal relationships. The between-person network revealed significant positive person-level associations among negative alterations in cognition and mood (NACM) and dysphoria; checking and washing; and checking and neutralizing. The temporal network showed that within-person increases in NACM at one occasion were associated with within-person decreases in ordering behavior at the next occasion. Within-person increases in hoarding, neutralizing, and hyperarousal at one occasion were associated with within-person increases in washing, avoidance, and dysphoria at the next occasion, respectively. This network also indicated that hyperarousal was the most stable symptom across occasions. Last, the contemporaneous network revealed strong positive relationships between intrusion and avoidance, NACM and hyperarousal, and dysphoria and hyperarousal. The current study is the first to examine both inter- and intra-individual associations among dysphoria, PTSD, and OCD symptoms across the perinatal period. Between-person results replicate previous patterns in the literature, while findings regarding temporal associations among symptoms across the perinatal period highlight the possible predictive roles of symptoms such as NACM, hoarding, neutralizing, and hyperarousal for other PTSD, OCD and dysphoria symptoms later in pregnancy. This has the potential to inform specific targets for interventions targeting these symptoms.