The Expression of Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms in Daily Life: A Review of Experience Sampling Methodology and Daily Diary Studies

Although sleep complaints are common among patients with Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), polysomnographic studies examining sleep abnormalities in PTSD have produced inconsistent results. To clarify discrepant findings, we conducted a meta-analytic review of 20 polysomnographic studies comparing sleep in people with and without PTSD. Results showed that PTSD patients had more stage 1 sleep, less slow wave sleep, and greater rapid-eye-movement density compared to people without PTSD. We also conducted exploratory analyses aimed at examining potential moderating variables (age, sex, and comorbid depression and substance use disorders). Overall, studies with a greater proportion of male participants or a low rate of comorbid depression tended to find more PTSD-related sleep disturbances. These findings suggest that sleep abnormalities exist in PTSD, and that some of the inconsistencies in prior findings may be explained by moderating variables.

This article introduces the special section on experience sampling methods and ecological momentary assessment in clinical assessment. We review the conceptual basis for experience sampling methods (ESM; Csikszentmihalyi & Larson, 1987) and ecological momentary assessment (EMA; Stone & Shiffman, 1994). Next, we highlight several advantageous features of ESM/EMA as applied to psychological assessment and clinical research. We provide a brief overview of the articles in this special section, each of which focuses on 1 of the following major classes of psychological disorders: mood disorders and mood dysregulation (Ebner-Priemer & Trull, 2009), anxiety disorders (Alpers, 2009), substance use disorders (Shiffman, 2009), and psychosis (Oorschot, Kwapil, Delespaul, & Myin-Germeys, 2009). Finally, we discuss prospects, future challenges, and limitations of ESM/EMA.