A study published in the Journal of Mental Health examines complex PTSD (CPTSD) among individuals with serious mental illness (SMI), such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. CPTSD is linked to prolonged trauma and includes symptoms of PTSD along with additional disturbances in self-organization. Researchers analyzed data from 307 treatment-seeking participants diagnosed with SMI and PTSD, utilizing Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) to identify distinct symptom profiles.

The findings revealed three distinct classes of symptoms: 26.7% of participants were classified as PTSD, 43.7% as CPTSD, and 29.6% as CPTSD with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Those in the CPTSD+BPD class exhibited the highest levels of psychiatric symptoms, followed by the CPTSD and PTSD groups.

These results highlight the variability in symptom presentations among PTSD classifications, indicating that even with similar diagnoses, individuals can experience different symptom patterns. This underscores the need for tailored approaches in studying and treating CPTSD within SMI populations.