Everyday life experiences for evaluating post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms

Background: Previous research has highlighted the importance of regularizing daily routines for maintaining mental health. Little is known about whether and how regularity of daily routines is associated with reduced post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. 

Objective: We aimed to examine the associations between regularity of daily routines and PTSD symptoms in two studies (N = 796). 

Method: In Study 1, prospective data were analysed with the latent change score model to investigate the association between sustainment of regular daily routines and change in PTSD symptoms over time amid massive civil unrest in Hong Kong in 2019. Study 2 used vignette as a quasi-experimental method to assess the ability of maintaining regular daily routines in face of a major stressor, and tested its associations with PTSD symptoms. 

Results: In Study 1, increased regularity of diverse daily routines was inversely associated with increased PTSD symptoms amid the civil unrest in Hong Kong (β = −.427 to −.224, 95% confidence intervals [−.543 to −.359, −.310 to −.090], p values <.01). In Study 2, a greater ability to maintain regular daily routines during stress was associated with lower levels of PTSD symptoms (β = −.285 to −.096, 95% confidence intervals [−.379 to −.189, −.190 to −.003], p values <.05). 

Conclusions: Our findings suggest the benefit of considering diverse everyday activities in evaluating PTSD symptoms in both clinical and subclinical populations. Interventions with the direct focus on the role of daily living could promote psychological resilience during and after potentially traumatic events. Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.