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

Objective: Group-based posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment options are in high demand, especially at community health centers with limited staff and resources. We have developed an online telehealth-based, 16-week group psychotherapeutic intervention program called Program for Alleviating and Resolving Trauma and Stress (PARTS) based on the Internal Family Systems psychotherapy framework. The goal of this study is to test the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of PARTS through a randomized controlled trial.

Method: This randomized controlled trial randomized patients with PTSD (N = 60) to PARTS (n = 30) or a well-matched active control condition called Nature-Based Stress Reduction for Trauma Survivors, with each arm receiving 16 weekly group sessions and eight biweekly individual counseling sessions. The two arms were compared on intervention adherence, treatment satisfaction, and PTSD symptom changes as measured by the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition.

Results: Overall, patients in the PARTS arm attended more group sessions compared to the control arm and reported higher levels of group satisfaction (p < .05). Both treatment arms showed statistically significant reduction of Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition scores (p < .001) without significant differences between the two treatment arms.

Conclusions: This study demonstrated the feasibility and acceptability of PARTS as a group-based PTSD treatment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: This review investigates the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), attachment, and emotion regulation, aiming to understand their impact on emotional and cognitive development throughout life. Beyond synthesizing previous findings, this review proposes a framework that clarifies how these variables interact, specifies mechanisms and developmental trajectories, and delineates practice-oriented directions for early, family-centered assessment, prevention, and intervention.

Method: A literature search was conducted in international databases to identify journal articles, analyzing how these theories explain the relationship between ACEs, attachment, and emotional regulation.

Results: Greater exposure to ACEs is often associated with greater difficulties in emotion regulation and with a higher likelihood of insecure attachment, including anxious attachment, from adolescence into adulthood. Moreover, the evidence we discuss indicates that antecedent-focused emotion regulation strategies, such as cognitive reappraisal, are linked to better adjustment than response-focused strategies, such as suppression, thereby specifying clinically relevant targets.

Conclusion: This investigation highlights the need for preventive interventions to break the intergenerational trauma cycle and promote long-term psychological well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Sex trafficking survivors (STS) experience many negative health outcomes; however, few studies have examined disordered eating (DE) among this population. This report aimed to explore rates of specific DE symptomology in STS compared with nontrafficked women.

Method: Participants were recruited from antitrafficking agencies, Amazon Mechanical Turk, and social media. Participants completed surveys assessing DE (Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire), sex trafficking status, and demographics. We conducted correlational analyses and multivariate analyses of variance to examine relationships between demographic variables and Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire subscales (i.e., Restraint, Eating Concern, Shape Concern, Weight Concern). A multivariate analysis of covariance controlling for history of nontrafficking trauma with the predictor of trafficking status and the outcomes of the four Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire subscale scores was also conducted.

Results: Multivariate analysis of covariance results revealed a significant multivariate effect of trafficking status on DE symptoms (Wilks's Λ = .73), F(4, 262) = 25.42, p < .001, partial η² = .27. Follow-up univariate analyses showed significantly higher levels of Restraint (M = 2.78 vs. M = 2.15, p = .004, partial η² = .03), Eating Concern (M = 2.72 vs. M = 1.19, p < .001, partial η² = .19), and Weight Concern (M = 3.38 vs. M = 2.74, p = .002, partial η² = .33) for STS. The largest effect was observed for Eating Concern, with trafficking status explaining 19% of the variance.

Conclusions: This report highlights nuances of DE symptomology among STS compared to nontrafficked women and demographics that increase risk for subsamples of STS. Findings inform recommendations for aftercare services for STS and future research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: This study explored how community resilience and resistance manifest in the experiences of trans and gender diverse (TGD) people engaging in activism in a medium-sized Brazilian town. It aimed to understand how TGD activists navigate political violence and identify elements of community resilience and resistance within their activist work.

Method: We employed a qualitative participatory approach, centering the lived experiences of TGD activists. We collaborated and conducted semistructured interviews with six TGD activists. The study was theoretically informed by Liberation Psychology and the multisystemic resilience framework. Data were analyzed using a reflexive thematic analysis, enriched by an intersectional lens.

Results: The analysis generated three interrelated themes, each encompassing multiple strengths and relational resources. Pride captured expressions of identity pride, community connectedness, and aesthetic audacity. Pleasure combined accounts of gender euphoria, cultural engagement, and experiencing trans bodies as sources of political resistance. Purpose illuminated how meaning-making practices were shaped by serving future generations and awareness of intersecting oppressions.

Conclusions: Activism is often incorporated by activists as a meaning-making framework. It can contribute to addressing psychosocial trauma by fostering the development of psychosocial strengths, such as pride, a sense of purpose, and experiences of pleasure validated within community contexts. These findings have implications for research, practice, and policymaking, underscoring the role of community engagement in well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: This study sought to understand the psychological reactions associated with participants' reflections on various aspects of historical racism in the United States, as experienced by African American adults.

Method: A qualitative approach was employed, in which 31 self-identified African American adults responded to open-ended questions about the history of anti-Black racism and the current effect that history has on them.

Results: Participants' responses fell into the following clusters: anger, anxiety, sadness, distress, lowered self-worth, disconnection from others, arousal/avoidance/numbness, and positivity.

Conclusions: The findings suggest that, for the current participants, the history of racism exerts an ongoing negative psychological impact, as well as eliciting positive responses, such as feelings of empowerment. The results also provide important insights for the potential measurement of historical racial trauma among African Americans. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: In wartime, civilians are frequently exposed to trauma both directly (e.g., missile attacks) and indirectly (e.g., distressing stories). Responses to trauma differ among individuals; some exhibit increased negative emotional reactions, while others can maintain their psychological well-being. This variability may stem from differences in affective and cognitive empathy levels. Research indicates that under stressful conditions, heightened affective empathy often increases negative emotions. Conversely, cognitive empathy typically alleviates distress. The present study has explored the potential conflict between these forms of empathy and their impact on anxiety symptoms in cases of direct and indirect cumulative trauma exposure during war.

Method: One hundred twenty-two civilians (M = 26.80, SD = 7.43) were evaluated for trauma exposure, empathy, and the severity of anxiety symptoms during the first month of a distressing war.

Results: The findings revealed differential patterns based on both the nature of exposure and the form of empathy. In conditions of indirect trauma exposure, cognitive empathy moderates the relationship between trauma exposure and anxiety. Specifically, individuals with low cognitive empathy exhibited heightened symptoms as exposure increased. In contrast, those with high cognitive empathy maintained low anxiety levels regardless of exposure. Affective empathy, however, consistently correlated with higher anxiety. Conversely, in conditions of direct trauma exposure, anxiety remained elevated regardless of the type or level of empathy.

Conclusions: These findings emphasize the necessity of distinguishing between types of exposure and support the development of cognitive empathy-focused interventions to enhance civilian mental health during continuous conflict situations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Trauma-focused cognitive behavior therapy (TF-CBT) is the gold standard treatment for traumatized children and their parents that shows robust positive impacts for children. However, it is not clear how parents may benefit from the therapy. This systematic review synthesizes the current evidence relating to the impact of TF-CBT for parenting and parent mental health.

Method: APA PsycInfo, Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science were systematically searched, and empirical articles were eligible for inclusion if they evaluated TF-CBT delivered to a child and their parent and reported at least one mental health or parenting outcome for the participating parent. Narrative synthesis was conducted on 10 studies, published across 14 eligible articles.

Results: Small-to-medium positive effects were evident for both parenting and parent mental health, including improved depression, posttraumatic stress symptoms and cognitions, emotional reactivity, and lower distress.

Conclusions: These findings are promising but emerging, as the evidence base is currently small. Given the reciprocal relationship between child and parent mental health and the potential negative impact of child trauma on both parent mental health and parenting, improving parent outcomes can help meet the dual aim of supporting parents and enabling them to help their child recover. Further research is required to understand which parents benefit from TF-CBT, the process by which they benefit, and how this relates to child outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: It is common for adolescents who recently disclosed sexual abuse to report significant levels of trauma symptoms. Many experience improvement in these symptoms shortly thereafter, even without formal intervention, but little is known about why this happens. This study examines whether adolescent perceptions of caregiver emotional support and adolescent optimism relate to trauma symptoms among adolescents who are on a wait-list for treatment after having disclosed sexual abuse.

Method: Participants were 223 adolescents who experienced sexual abuse (98% female; M_age = 13.49 years; 52.9% identified as Hispanic/Latine). All participated in a screening assessment at a Children's Advocacy Center and were then placed on a wait-list for treatment. Adolescents reported on caregiver emotional support, optimism, and trauma symptoms at the screening assessment (T1). They reported on trauma symptoms again prior to the initiation of treatment (T2).

Results: Caregiver emotional support was positively related to adolescent optimism (r = .25, p < .001). In a regression analysis, after controlling for T1 trauma symptoms, adolescent age and sex, and time on wait-list, adolescent optimism was related to T2 trauma symptoms, β = -.15, t(217) = -2.65, p = .009; caregiver emotional support was not.

Conclusions: Understanding adolescent optimism among adolescents who have been sexually abused may have predictive value and implications for interventions for youth who are reporting trauma symptoms after experiencing sexual abuse. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Oncology nurses frequently experience both vicarious trauma (VT) and vicarious posttraumatic growth (VPTG). However, the precise relationship and structure of symptomatic levels of VT and VPTG has not been well understood. Understanding these links is essential for improving nurse well-being and patient care quality. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the connections between VT and VPTG in oncology nurses.

Method: Four hundred one oncology nurses were recruited from multiple hospitals. They completed the VT Questionnaire and Posttraumatic Growth Inventory. The graphical Gaussian model was used to estimate the network model. Central and bridge components were identified based on "expected influence" and "bridge expected influence" indices, respectively.

Results: The network analysis showed "Feel mentally fatigued at work" and "Whenever I think about the patient, I feel distressed or sad" as the most influential components in the VT network, and "Do better things with life" and "More likely to try and change things" as the most influential elements in the VPTG network. Five bridge components emerged between the VT and VPTG, namely "Life is fragile makes me scared," "Feel distressed or sad," "Can handle difficulties better," "New life path," and "More compassion for others."

Conclusions: Targeted interventions such as cognitive restructuring and emotion regulation training that focus on central and bridging symptoms in the combined network of VT and VPTG may help reduce VT severity and enhance VPTG among oncology nurses. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Over the past two decades, positive psychology research has identified correlates of resilience. Although a range of strengths have been explored, there is a need to identify specific strengths that best support individuals to thrive after interpersonal trauma and adversity. This study assessed the contribution of 24 strengths from the Values in Action (VIA) positive psychology survey, alongside five other measures of strengths identified from resilience research, to identify those that show most promise.

Method: In total, 1,440 adults from the United Kingdom and Ireland completed the online VIA survey, and questions on five psychosocial strengths (ecoconnections, mindfulness, psychological endurance, sense of purpose, and social support), adversities (interpersonal victimization and institutional betrayal), and current functioning (subjective well-being, posttraumatic growth, and health-related quality of life).

Results: In the first U.K. and Ireland study to assess institutional betrayal alongside other interpersonal adversities and a range of resiliency factors, participants reported high rates of victimization and other trauma. Strengths accounted for greater proportions of variance in all three outcomes compared to adversities. Hope and zest were significantly and positively associated with all three outcomes. Sense of purpose, gratitude, social support, mindfulness, psychological endurance, spirituality, and self-regulation were positively related to at least one outcome. Humor, spirituality, fairness, and leadership were associated with worse functioning in some analyses.

Conclusions: Some strengths are more helpful than others for overcoming adversity, and could serve as useful targets for intervention to mitigate the burden of interpersonal adversity. Further work is needed to understand the complexities of strengths on resilience in global contexts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).