Psychological trauma : theory, research, practice and policy最新文献

Objective: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are widely recognized for their impact on an individual's prosocial behaviors. However, the specific relationship between ACEs and public service motivation (PSM)-a form of prosocial behavior within the public domain-remains insufficiently understood. Considering the crucial role PSM plays in psychological and social development, this study aimed to investigate the association between ACEs and PSM, with a particular focus on the mediating effect of sleep duration. Furthermore, in the context of urban-rural disparities in China, the present study will explore the moderating influence of urban-rural status on this relationship.

Method: This study used cross-sectional data from a 2023 nationwide survey conducted in China, involving 30,054 participants (female 50.1%). This study used modified Poisson regression with robust variance to examine the association between exposure to seven types of ACEs and the risk of low PSM. The study also explored the mediating role of sleep duration and the moderating role of urban-rural status in the relationship between ACEs and PSM.

Results: Exposure to all seven different types of ACE was significantly associated with an increased risk of low PSM. In addition, ACE scores negatively predicted PSM outcomes (B = -0.41, p ≤ 0.001), and the effect of ACEs on PSM scores was mediated by sleep duration.

Conclusions: All seven types of ACEs increased the risk of low PSM to some extent. ACEs negatively predicted PSM indirectly through sleep duration, while urban-rural status moderated the relationships among ACEs, sleep duration, and PSM. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Limited research has documented the continuity of trauma exposure between parents and young children and the relation between intergenerational trauma and maternal parenting and child outcomes. This study examined intergenerational trauma among African American families from low-income backgrounds and its relation to parenting processes and children's behavior.

Method: Participants represent a subsample of 157 African American mothers and their 4- to 7-year-old children in an urban prekindergarten program. Researchers collected data on maternal and child exposure to trauma, demographics, parenting stress, and child behavior in families' homes. Parent-child interaction was videorecorded and coded.

Results: Parent and child trauma exposures were strongly related. Elevated parent and child trauma was related to higher sensitive-engaged parenting. Parenting stress moderated maternal and child trauma's association with sensitive-engaged parenting, as well as the association between child trauma and harsh parenting. Higher parent trauma, child trauma, and parenting stress scores were associated with increased child externalizing behavior.

Conclusions: This study documented intergenerational continuity of trauma and trauma's impact on child behavior. Findings revealed complex relations between trauma and parenting that were moderated by parenting stress. Implications of these findings underscore the importance of interventions that promote positive parental mental health and parenting in the context of addressing the intergenerational risk for children's trauma exposure and sequelae. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: In their work, police officers are routinely exposed to potentially traumatic events, some of which may also be morally distressing. Moral injury refers to the multidimensional impact of exposure to such potentially morally injurious events (PMIEs). Mainly originating from a military context, there is little empirical research on moral injury in policing. The aim of this study was to gain insight into what PMIEs and moral injury in police officers entail.

Method: We used a generic qualitative research approach inspired by grounded theory. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 13 treatment-seeking, trauma-exposed police officers at a Dutch national center for psychotrauma. Participants were 11 men and two women with a diagnosis of profession-related posttraumatic stress disorder, who reported being troubled by exposure to a morally transgressive event.

Results: Findings were categorized into three categories in terms of PMIEs and moral injury: (1) no high stakes PMIEs, (2) high stakes PMIEs but no moral injury, and (3) high stakes PMIEs and moral injury. Within the third category, three main themes and associated subthemes emerged: (1) a sense of responsibility in death, (2) the illusion of control, and (3) a duty to remember.

Conclusions: This study is the first to explore high stakes PMIEs and moral injury in trauma-exposed, help-seeking police officers. Findings show that moral injury seems a relevant clinical concept in policing. PMIEs may change their fundamental self-perception and lead to deep feelings of guilt and shame. Directions for future research include examining police officers' treatment needs and perspectives on "moral recovery." (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: We aimed to investigate the relationship between complex posttraumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) symptoms and posttraumatic growth (PTG) among adolescents and emerging adults with adverse childhood experiences.

Method: A total of 4,581 adolescents and 4,335 emerging adults with adverse childhood experiences completed questionnaires. Network analysis was used to investigate the relationship between CPTSD symptoms and PTG from a variable-centered perspective. Latent profile analysis was used to investigate this relationship from a person-centered perspective.

Results: Positive and negative correlations between various dimensions of CPTSD symptoms (especially disturbances in self-organization symptoms) and PTG were found by network analysis. The correlations between posttraumatic stress disorder/disturbances in self-organization symptoms and PTG differed in the two samples. PTG2 (spiritual-existential change) had the highest bridge expected influence value among the two samples. PTG1 (appreciation of life) and PTG4 (relation to others) had the lowest bridge expected influence among adolescents and emerging adults, respectively. By latent profile analysis, five subgroups of CPTSD symptoms and PTG (low reaction group, low disorder-moderate growth group, low disorder-high growth group, coexistence group, and high disorder-low growth group) were identified in the two samples, with different proportions.

Conclusions: There were negative and positive correlations between various dimensions of CPTSD symptoms and PTG, which might reflect the constructive (appreciation of life among adolescents; relation to others among emerging adults) and illusory (spiritual-existential change) components of PTG. CPTSD symptoms and PTG exhibited heterogeneous characteristics. The relationship between CPTSD symptoms and PTG differed between adolescents and emerging adults with adverse childhood experiences. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Aggression outcome expectation is widely recognized as a cognitive factor influencing aggression. However, the neural factors responsible for aggression outcome expectation and its detrimental impact remain poorly understood. The present study investigates the neural basis of aggression outcome expectation and the relationship between aggression outcome expectation and aggressive tendencies, which is essential for advancing research in aggression.

Method: We employed surface-based morphometry to elucidate the neural structure associated with aggression outcome expectation as assessed by the Social Emotional Information Processing Assessment for Adults. We also examined its correlation with aggression, assessed using the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire, in a sample comprising 185 university students (114 females; M_age = 19.94 ± 1.62 years; age range = 17-32 years).

Results: Multiple regression analysis using bilateral temporal lobes as a region of interest showed a significantly positive correlation between aggression outcome expectation and the cortical thickness in the left inferior temporal gyrus (x = -46, y = -52, z = 13; t = 3.14; cluster sizes = 113, p < .05, small volume corrected). Moreover, aggression outcome expectation acted as a mediator underlying the association between the left inferior temporal gyrus thickness and aggression.

Conclusions: Our findings indicate that the cortical thickness in the temporal lobes, especially the left inferior temporal gyrus, plays a vital role in aggression outcome expectation and aggression. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: This study examines trauma and resilience among individuals bereaved by natural disasters in China, integrating bereaved children's and practitioners' perspectives with macrodiscourses. It explores how social contexts shape trauma and resilience, offering a novel comparison of personal, professional, and broader narratives.

Method: Semistructured interviews were conducted with 11 adults who experienced childhood bereavement due to the Wenchuan earthquake and nine practitioners working with traumatized children. Additionally, 58 government documents and 129 newspaper articles were analyzed to capture macrolevel discourses on trauma and resilience.

Results: Discrepancies emerged between bereaved individuals and practitioners in understanding bereavement's impact. The bereaved emphasized the long-term effects on personal development and family dynamics, highlighting the social-ecological factors shaping resilience. In contrast, practitioners focused more on the immediate psychological consequences and were less attuned to the broader socioeconomic implications. Macrodiscourses, largely framed by government and media, tended to medicalize trauma and depict resilience as overcoming adversity, simplifying its complexity compared to the more nuanced perspectives of practitioners.

Conclusions: Trauma and resilience are shaped by the interplay of individual experiences and broader societal narratives. To improve postdisaster support, policies must consider the long-term socioeconomic impacts of bereavement and adopt a more holistic understanding of resilience, beyond psychological recovery, that is sensitive to cultural and social contexts in China. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Research on posttraumatic stress disorder and ethnic identity suggests that emotional avoidance mediates the relationship between ethnic identity and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. We were interested in examining whether these findings extend to racial trauma.

Method: Two hundred sixteen individuals of color were recruited via Prolific (M_age = 33.1 years; 51.3% male; 30.6% Asian, 32.9% African American, 36.6% Latinx). Participants completed measures of on ethnic identity, racial trauma, and emotional avoidance. Two distinct mediation models were analyzed to explore the mediating role of positive emotional avoidance (Model 1) and negative emotional avoidance (Model 2) in the relationship between ethnic identity and racial trauma.

Results: Model 1 revealed that ethnic-racial identity did predict positive emotional avoidance, and positive emotional avoidance did predict racial trauma symptoms; additionally positive emotional avoidance partially mediated the relationship between ethnic-racial identity and racial trauma. In Model 2, negative emotional avoidance and ethnic-racial identity predicted racial trauma; however, negative emotional avoidance did not mediate the relationship between ethnic-racial identity and racial trauma symptoms.

Conclusions: The findings shed light on the parallels and distinctions between posttraumatic stress disorder and racial trauma. Emotional avoidance seems to play a role in maintenance of traumatic stress regardless of trauma type. Further, strong ethnic identity may serve as protective factor against development of racial trauma symptoms by lowering tendency to engage in avoidance of positive but not negative emotions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Previous studies have shown that childhood adversity and posttraumatic growth are interrelated. However, little is known about this association and how it is influenced by social support and coping style in lung cancer patients. To explore the relationship between childhood adversity and the posttraumatic growth of lung cancer patients and the possible mediating roles of social support and coping style in this relationship.

Method: In the cross-sectional study, 328 lung cancer patients anonymously completed questionnaires about childhood adversity, social support, coping style, and posttraumatic growth. Pearson's correlation was used to test the links between variables and to verify the indirect effects between variables by constructing a structural equation model.

Results: Childhood adversity was negatively correlated with posttraumatic growth (r = -0.16, p < .01), social support (r = -0.32, p < .001), and confrontational coping (r = -0.36, p < .001). Social support (r = 0.33, p < .001)and confrontational coping style (r = 0.48, p < .001) were positively correlated with posttraumatic growth. In addition, social support and confrontational coping mediated the relationship between childhood adversity and posttraumatic growth.

Conclusion: This study demonstrated that childhood adversity in lung cancer patients is significantly associated with low levels of posttraumatic growth and that social support and confrontational coping play crucial roles in this relationship. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Chinese shidu parents (bereaved parents who have lost the only child) may experience prolonged grief disorder, as well as posttraumatic growth (PTG). This study aimed to examine their latent classes and transition patterns of prolonged grief disorder symptoms and PTG.

Method: Based on a longitudinal design, 265 shidu parents completed the Prolonged Grief Scale-Revised and Short Form of Posttraumatic Growth Inventory for Chinese Shidu Parents twice with an interval of about 5 months. Latent class analysis and latent transition analysis were performed to identify subgroups and their transition possibilities over time.

Results: Four latent classes that changed over time were identified: a "growth" class, a "combined grief and growth" class, a "low grief" class, and a "high grief" class. From Time 1 to Time 2, the proportion of the growth class and the low grief class increased. Shidu parents in the growth class or combined class had about a 36% probability of moving to low grief class. Compared with individuals in the high grief class (8.5%), members in the low grief class (20.4%) had a higher probability of moving to the growth class. Moreover, 29.0% of shidu parents suffered from persistent grief.

Conclusions: Adjustment to child loss displayed substantial variations between individuals. PTG reported by shidu parents can be both stable and temporary. About 30% of shidu parents suffered from persistent and severe grief, and designing grief-focused treatment may be beneficial for them. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: The present study examined the role of racism-based traumatic stress (RBTS) symptoms (i.e., traumatic stress reactions in direct response to experiences of racial discrimination) and suicide-related risk in a national sample of U.S. Black and Latine adolescents.

Method: Study participants were recruited from an online survey panel (N = 559), self-identified as Black (54.7%) and/or Latine (45.3%), and were between 12 and 17 years old (M = 14.54, SD = 1.64). Logistic regression analyses were used to test the association between RBTS symptoms and past-year suicidal ideation, plans, and attempts, accounting for conventional and racism-based potentially traumatic exposures (PTEs) and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms.

Results: Findings suggest that adolescents with higher levels of RBTS symptoms were at elevated risk for past-year suicide attempts, adjusted odds ratio [confidence intervals] = 1.54, 95% CI [1.02, 2.31], p = .04, above and beyond reported levels of PTEs, racism-based potentially traumatic exposures, and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. This association was not observed with past-year suicidal ideation, adjusted odds ratio = 1.30, 95% CI [0.92, 1.84], p = .14, or past-year suicide plans, adjusted odds ratio = 1.07, 95% CI [0.72, 1.61], p = .73.

Conclusion: RBTS symptoms may be relevant in identifying suicide-related risk, particularly suicide attempts, among Black and Latine adolescents. While these findings provide insights into the relationship between RBTS and suicide-related risk, the cross-sectional design limits causal inference, and the use of a convenience sample may limit generalizability to the broader Black and Latine populations. Tailored interventions that address the nuanced effects of racial trauma on suicide risk are needed among youth of color. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).