Maintaining self-esteem is a fundamental human motivation. Trauma may lower self-esteem, which contributes to the development and maintenance of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Assessment of self-esteem in Tunisian military patients suffering from PTSD. Study of correlation between the severity of the PTSD symptoms and the rate of self-esteem.

Transversal descriptive study of a sample of 22 patients treated for PTSD in the Tunisian Military Hospital during the period between August and October 2016.

The PTSD Cheklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HAD), and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale were administered for patients.

All the patients assessed were male. The mean age of the sample was 29.6 years. Fifty percent of the patients presented with a co-morbid major depression. Based on the score of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, patients had a self-esteem, which was very low in 45.45% of case, low in 45.45% of cases, average in 4.54% of cases and high in 4.54% of cases. The results also showed that lower levels of self-esteem are significantly correlated to the severity of the PTSD symptoms as measured by the PCL-5 score.

This study highlights the magnitude of self-esteem deficiency among patients suffering from PTSD. It remains unclear as to whether the relationship between trauma and depression is consistently mediated by a negative cognitive schema, such as low self-esteem, or whether trauma influences mood independently of low self-esteem. Further studies are required.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.