Psychological Trauma, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Resilience in Adults With Congenital Heart Disease

The purpose of this study, entitled "Psychological trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, and resilience in adults with congenital heart disease in a large population sample", is to evaluate for exposures during a lifetime with congenital heart disease that may be associated with higher likelihood of developing PTSD. This study will use the existing registry for the Congenital Heart Initiative (CHI), which contains over 4,000 ACHD patients who have opted in to receive surveys from this research team. The CHI was launched in late 2020, and full information can be found at \[clinicaltrials.gov ID: NCT05185232\]. For this PTSD and resilience arm of the study, an email invitation will be sent to all CHI members, who can opt in to complete surveys assessing psychological trauma as a consequence of one's heart disease. The first stage will be a distribution of approximately two surveys. The first survey is called the Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for the DSM-5 (PCL-5), a 20-item screening tool with a score ranging from 0 (no symptoms) to 80 (highest symptoms). As a screener, this survey does not diagnose PTSD, but identifies those who are experiencing significant symptoms. Because of the sensitive nature of this topic, all survey items are optional and there is no penalty for not finishing the survey. The next survey will study resilience, most likely using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, which has been tested in other ACHD studies. Resilience is defined as a person's ability to withstand and recover from stressful life experiences. Studying resilience will serve as an ideal balancing measure to the study of PTSD. The final stage of this study will be in-person diagnostic interviews. Trained psychology research assistants will help administer the Clinician Administered PTSD Diagnostic Interview (CAPS-5) via video conference. Recruitment for this phase will include a subset of respondents who are invited from those who completed the PCL-5 to participate in the CAPS-5 if they choose to do so. This will include all ranges of scores on the PCL-5, representing those who screen positive and negative using the PCL-5. The CAPS-5 is considered the gold standard for PTSD diagnosis, and can provide valuable validation information for the PCL-5 in this population. At the conclusion of the interview, the study team may discuss resilience-building strategies as a qualitative assessment. Overall, the investigators aim to estimate the prevalence of psychological trauma and PTSD in the ACHD population, as well as learning strategies to build resilience. This study will also aim to validate the screening tools for PTSD and resilience, so they may be implemented in the outpatient setting. The study team will assess for conditions that are most associated with PTSD and resilience, to help identify patients who may be at higher risk based on their illness course. Stressful experiences such as surgeries, arrhythmias, ICU admissions, and general anxiety about one's heart may be unavoidable at times. By understanding what drives a patient's illness experience, clinicians can plan for interventions to reduce trauma and build resilience.