Cognitive failures

How are cognitive failures related to PTSD?

Cognitive failures or “slips” are experienced by everyone from time to time and represent a brief lapse in concentration in real world settings. They are influenced by factors such as personality, mood, stress, and time of day. People with psychological disorders are thought to be more vulnerable to cognitive failures, possibly due to increased problems with related cognitive processing such as attention.

Several self-report tools have been developed to measure cognitive failures. One common tool is the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ), which requires individuals to indicate how frequently they have experienced a list of minor perceptual, memory, and action failures in everyday life.

What is the evidence for cognitive failures in people with PTSD?

Moderate quality evidence finds increased severity of PTSD symptoms is related to more cognitive failures.

August 2021

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Last updated at: 5:20 pm, 15th February 2022
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