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

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) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: This cross-sectional study explored sex/gender differences in the associations between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and intimate partner violence (IPV) with mental health problems (i.e., attempted suicide and mental disorders), including whether sex/gender differences varied by race/ethnicity.

Method: Data were used from participants in the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions in the United States of America (Wave II: 2004-2005). Logistic regressions tested associations between ACEs (i.e., child abuse, child neglect, and child household dysfunction) and IPV or cumulative trauma with mental health problems along with sex/gender and race/ethnicity interactions.

Results: Females who experienced child abuse or three to four cumulative traumas had greater odds of attempted suicide than males with the same experiences. Males who experienced IPV had greater odds of attempted suicide than females who experienced IPV. There were significant sex/gender differences in the associations between cumulative trauma and mental disorders (i.e., mood disorder, anxiety disorder, alcohol use disorder, and nicotine dependence), except posttraumatic stress disorder. For example, females with cumulative trauma had greater odds of substance use disorders. Many sex/gender differences in associations between ACEs and IPV or cumulative trauma with mental health problems varied by race/ethnicity. For example, child neglect was associated with greater odds of attempted suicide for non-Hispanic Black males (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 3.53 vs. AOR = 1.29 for females), whereas no sex/gender differences in this association were revealed for non-Hispanic White or Hispanic adults.

Conclusions: Findings show sex/gender differences in associations between trauma and mental health problems that vary by race/ethnicity and warrant further study. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Given the potential impact on brain development and social issues related to trauma, better understanding and attending to transgenerational trauma (TT) are necessary. Typically, specific groups are examined when studying TT, which limits research on universal aspects. The present study presents qualitative data from a college sample of emerging adults between the ages of 18 and 23. This study was performed to identify potential indicators of TT.

Method: The Family Impact Study Questionnaire was initially constructed after a literature review and revised after cognitive interviews from a college sample of 11 emerging adults. Fifty-six ethnically diverse participants completed the Family Impact Study Questionnaire.

Results: Findings suggest 10 indicators related to TT. Six indicators, dangerous place, overprotection, parental role reversal, neglect, perceived parental burden, and resilience are consistent with current findings in the literature. Four indicators, no knowledge, no effect, concerns about transference of parental issues, parental behavior as a model, and importance of exposure expand on current findings in the literature.

Conclusions: This research suggests that further development of the Family Impact Study Questionnaire into a mixed methods TT measure would help to advance knowledge of the TT construct. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 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) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Defined as dispositional qualities that elevate well-being, character strengths such as love and kindness can be developed and enhanced to improve quality of life. Yet, little is known how specific strengths are associated with posttrauma mental health. The present study explored their concurrent associations with posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and posttraumatic growth (PTG) in a sample of 405 women sexual assault survivors.

Method: We applied network analysis to investigate the structure of character strengths, PTSS, and PTG, as well as to identify character strengths most strongly associated with lower PTSS and greater PTG.

Results: Results revealed that the strengths of love and forgiveness were most strongly linked to lower PTSS, whereas spirituality and kindness were most strongly linked to greater PTG.

Conclusions: These findings highlight character strengths that may be most important to cultivate in trauma-focused care for survivors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: The present study aimed to examine the contribution of self-compassion and perceived social support from family, partner, and friends, along with pregnancy-related variables, and concerns about the fetus and childbirth, to pregnant women's mental health, comparing two different crises.

Method: A sample of 220 women was recruited during the COVID-19 pandemic, and another sample of 224 women was recruited during the Israel-Hamas war. Participants were enrolled through a convenience sample and completed a set of self-report questionnaires.

Results: Women's mental health, self-compassion, and perceived support from family and partner were significantly higher during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with the war. Furthermore, women's mental health had positive and significant associations with self-compassion and perceived social support from all sources. Moreover, the association between self-compassion and mental health was moderated by the event.

Conclusions: The findings suggest that the pregnancy period should be examined under various unique stressful events to better understand the appropriate coping resources that can ameliorate women's stress due to a major stressful event alongside the challenges inherent in pregnancy itself. They also suggest that self-compassion is a context-dependent variable and more dynamic than previously understood. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: To elucidate the relationship between impaired sleep duration and trauma/posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) net of sociodemographic, behavioral, and comorbid diagnostic factors.

Method: We investigated this relationship using the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III data set, analyzing a nationally representative sample of 36,309 adults. Our study identified three groups: those without trauma/PTSD, those with trauma but no PTSD, and those with PTSD. We examined the relationship of impaired sleep duration and trauma/PTSD net of demographic, diagnostic, and behavioral factors in these groups.

Results: Significant differences were observed among the groups across many sociodemographic and behavioral variables. Compared to those without trauma or PTSD, higher odds of reporting impaired sleep duration were observed among those with trauma (odds ratio = 1.38, 95% confidence interval [1.30, -1.47]) and especially those with PTSD (odds ratio = 2.54, confidence interval [2.22, -2.91]). Adjusted multivariable regression revealed attenuated but still significant associations between trauma/PTSD and impaired sleep duration, with PTSD showing a small effect size (> 1.5) on odds of impaired sleep duration and trauma alone showing a less than clinically meaningful effect size (< 1.5 but > 1). Recursive feature elimination identified key predictors of impaired sleep duration, including age, body mass index, race/ethnicity, psychiatric multimorbidity, chronic pain, and medical comorbidity.

Conclusions: Impaired sleep duration among individuals with trauma/PTSD is highly multifactorial. While trauma and PTSD contribute to sleep disturbances, other factors such as psychiatric and medical comorbidities play significant roles; impaired sleep in trauma/PTSD may be better understood through the lens of allostatic load. Addressing these comorbid factors alongside trauma/PTSD may improve treatment outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Although traumatic exposures are common, only a small percentage of people exposed to trauma go on to develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This phenomenon suggests that there may be psychological factors that influence posttraumatic recovery trajectories. Beliefs about one's ability to cope with traumatic events have been proposed as a mechanism of posttraumatic recovery. The present study evaluated coping self-efficacy (CSE) as a treatment mechanism.

Method: Data were collected from 423 military service members and veterans who completed a 2-week cognitive processing therapy-based intensive treatment program for PTSD. Linear mixed-effects models were used to evaluate the associations between CSE and clinical symptoms over time. CSE and clinical symptoms were assessed at baseline, every other day during treatment, and at posttreatment. In addition, general self-efficacy (GSE) was assessed at baseline and included in the analyses.

Results: Participants reported that increases in CSE began early and steadily increased across all domains during treatment. In addition, decreases in PTSD and depression severity also began early and steadily decreased during treatment. Although improvements in CSE predicted decreases in clinical symptoms, changes in CSE did not precede clinical improvement. Baseline GSE was a significant predictor of clinical outcomes, but changes in clinical symptoms during treatment did not differ based on one's baseline GSE.

Conclusions: The present study demonstrated that although changes in CSE do not temporarily precede changes in clinical symptoms, changes in CSE predicted changes in clinical symptoms, suggesting that CSE may serve as an indicator of treatment response. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Professionals working with people after traumatic events can experience both secondary traumatic stress (STS) and secondary posttraumatic growth (SPTG) as a result of exposure to indirect trauma; in both cases, a key role in their development is played by ruminations about the events experienced by the client. The aim of the study was to establish the relationship between STS, ruminations, and SPTG and determine the mediating role of ruminations in the relationship between STS and SPTG in a group of police officers.

Method: The study examined 682 police officers exposed to indirect trauma. Most of the respondents were men (75.1%). The mean age of the participants was 40.04 years (SD = 4.41). Three standard measurement tools were used: the Secondary Traumatic Stress Inventory, the Secondary Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, and the Event-Related Rumination Inventory. STS and SPTG were measured twice, with the second measurement taking place 6 months after the first measurement.

Results: STS was positively associated with SPTG. Ruminations positively correlated with STS and SPTG. Ruminations, mainly deliberate ones, played a mediating role in the relationship between STS and SPTG in both stages of the study.

Conclusions: Both STS and ruminations seem to favor the occurrence of SPTG in police officers working with people after traumatic experiences. Ruminations, especially deliberate ones, play an important role in the transition from the negative to the positive effects of indirect trauma. A tendency for deliberate rumination about the events experienced by the clients can increase the intensity of SPTG. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Exposure to trauma and subsequent posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) increase the risk of poor physical health outcomes. Yet, the nuances of the paths from trauma to poor health are largely theoretical, and research regarding how trauma types relate to specific trauma-related changes to diet and exercise is needed. The present study examined the associations between noninterpersonal and interpersonal trauma and PTSS with several novel dietary and exercise changes (i.e., perceived trauma-related diet changes in intake of calories, comfort food, refined carbohydrates, and sugar as well as changes in exercise amount and intensity).

Method: Participants were 430 Midwestern University trauma-exposed students (Mage = 23.87, SD = 6.90, range = 18-63; 81.1% female; 56.9% White).

Results: Higher PTSS corresponded to increased perceived trauma-related changes in consumption of calories, comfort foods, carbohydrates, and sugar (Bs = 0.1-.02). Interpersonal trauma was not tied to dietary changes, and noninterpersonal traumas were linked to decreased sugar intake. For trauma-related exercise changes, higher PTSS was associated with both increased likelihood of lower intensity exercise (B = .02) and higher intensity exercise (B = .03), yet neither trauma types were related. Further, neither trauma exposure nor PTSS was associated with perceptions in trauma-related increases in exercise amount.

Conclusions: PTSS, as opposed to types of trauma exposure, may be the primary driver of perceived trauma-related diet and exercise changes. The identification of trauma-related health modifications may help improve health outcomes of trauma survivors, and ongoing work should examine whether trauma-focused treatment reduces maladaptive changes to diet and exercise. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).