Complex PTSD and identification with the aggressor among survivors of childhood abuse

IF 3.4 2区心理学 Q1 FAMILY STUDIES Child Abuse & Neglect Pub Date : 2025-02-01 DOI:10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.107196

Yael Lahav , Marylene Cloitre , Philip Hyland , Mark Shevlin , Menachem Ben-Ezra , Thanos Karatzias

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Abstract

Background

Childhood abuse (CA) is a risk factor for trauma-related disorders including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex posttraumatic stress disorder (CPTSD). This severe form of interpersonal trauma may result in “identification with the aggressor” (IWA), in which the individual may take on the beliefs, perspectives, and behaviors of the perpetrator. Although previous evidence suggests that IWA may be particularly related to CPTSD as compared to PTSD, there has been no study that investigated this hypothesis.

Objective

The current study explored the relations between IWA and PTSD and CPTSD symptoms, and the contribution of IWA to the excess probability of PTSD and CPTSD classifications, as compared to no classification.

Participants and setting

This cross-sectional study was conducted among 320 Israeli adult CA survivors aged 21–63 (M = 42.04, SD = 10.81).

Methods

An online survey was completed by a convenience sample of adult CA survivors.

Results

Replacing one's agency with that of the perpetrator as part of IWA had a significant effect on both PTSD and CPTSD symptoms (ES = 0.36 and 0.24, respectively), and served as a risk factor for both PTSD and CPTSD classifications. Moreover, analysis of the models' predicted values reveals that the predicted probability of CPTSD classification was 3 to 5 times higher than on the probability of PTSD classifications, for low to high values of the replacing one's agency scale, respectively.

Conclusions

The current findings suggest that IWA may describe some of the deep and long-lasting detriments of CA on self, and may contribute to the development of CPTSD symptoms.

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儿童期虐待幸存者的复杂创伤后应激障碍和对攻击者的认同。

背景：儿童虐待（CA）是创伤相关障碍的危险因素，包括创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）和复杂创伤后应激障碍（CPTSD）。这种严重的人际创伤可能会导致“与侵略者的认同”（IWA），在这种情况下，个体可能会接受加害者的信仰、观点和行为。虽然先前的证据表明，与创伤后应激障碍相比，IWA可能与CPTSD特别相关，但尚未有研究调查这一假设。目的：本研究探讨IWA与PTSD和CPTSD症状的关系，以及与无分类相比，IWA对PTSD和CPTSD分类的超额概率的贡献。参与者和环境：这项横断面研究在320名21-63岁的以色列成年CA幸存者中进行（M = 42.04, SD = 10.81）。方法：通过方便的成年CA幸存者样本完成在线调查。结果：以行凶者代替自己的代理作为IWA的一部分对PTSD和CPTSD症状均有显著影响（ES分别为0.36和0.24），并且是PTSD和CPTSD分类的一个危险因素。此外，对模型预测值的分析显示，在替代行为量表的低值和高值情况下，CPTSD分类的预测概率分别是PTSD分类概率的3 ~ 5倍。结论：目前的研究结果表明，IWA可能描述了CA对自我的一些深层和持久的伤害，并可能有助于CPTSD症状的发展。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Child Abuse & Neglect Multiple-

CiteScore

7.40

自引率

10.40%

发文量

397

期刊介绍： Official Publication of the International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect. Child Abuse & Neglect The International Journal, provides an international, multidisciplinary forum on all aspects of child abuse and neglect, with special emphasis on prevention and treatment; the scope extends further to all those aspects of life which either favor or hinder child development. While contributions will primarily be from the fields of psychology, psychiatry, social work, medicine, nursing, law enforcement, legislature, education, and anthropology, the Journal encourages the concerned lay individual and child-oriented advocate organizations to contribute.