Journal of Trauma & Dissociation最新文献

The Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) is the most widely used self-report measure of dissociation but lacks a validity scale. Abu-Rus et al. (2020) created the DES-V by embedding atypical and inconsistency items in the DES, ultimately concluding that atypicality demonstrated the greatest ability to differentiate honest respondents from feigners. Among their study limitations, Abu-Rus et al. noted the homogeneous nature of their clinical group (i.e., largely comprising individuals with PTSD) and the potential need to refine the existing atypicality items for a more heterogenous dissociation population. The current study aimed to refine the DES-V by enlisting dissociation experts to improve the believability of the atypical items (while simultaneously ensuring they did not betoken any actual dissociative symptomology) and by supplementing the online sample with a clinical sample that included a broad range of dissociative disorders. Data cleaning comprised eight different techniques, to better ensure the validity of the online sample. Honest and Feigning groups completed the assessments through Amazon's Mechanical Turk; the clinical dissociative disorder group completed hard copy versions. The atypicality scale discriminated the three groups well, with the Feigning group scoring significantly higher than both of the honest groups (online and clinical). The mean atypicality scores of the two honest groups did not differ significantly. In addition, the scale incremented over the original DES-V in a logistic regression predicting honest and feigning participants. These robust results suggest that the revised DES-V could provide researchers with a valuable tool for validating online samples with greater precision - an increasingly vital need in light of the growing reliance on online samples.

Because of interlocking oppressions of racism and sexism (e.g. intersectionality), Black women's experiences of high rates of sexual violence are often ignored. A critical Black feminist framework, cultural betrayal trauma theory (CBTT) examines within-group violence in the Black community, which has compounding harm due to inequality. Though quantitative research has found support for CBTT, Black young women survivors' perspectives have not been examined. Therefore, the purpose of the current exploratory study was to engage in intersectionality praxis to qualitatively examine Black young women survivors' perspectives on CBTT through structured thematic analysis and coding based on theory. Respondents (N = 37; 18-30 years), provided their thoughts on CBTT following participating in a quantitative study. With most survivors in agreement that cultural betrayal in trauma is harmful, a key theme was community orientation in understanding both the harm and healing of cultural betrayal trauma. Black young women survivors' resonance with CBTT, as well as their recommendations for community-level solidarity and healing have important implications.

The first purpose of this study was to determine the course of dissociation among patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and personality-disordered comparison subjects (OPD) over 24 years of prospective follow-up. The second purpose was to determine clinically meaningful predictors of dissociation among patients with BPD. The Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) was administered to 290 patients with BPD and 72 personality-disordered comparison subjects at baseline, and then once every two years over 24 years of prospective follow-up. Baseline predictors were assessed with the Revised Childhood Experiences Questionnaire (CEQ-R), the SCID-I, and the Shipley Institute of Living Scale. Time-varying predictors were assessed at baseline and every subsequent two years by means of the Abuse History Interview (AHI). Patients with BPD had higher baseline dissociation scores than personality-disordered comparison subjects. Whilst dissociation decreased significantly over time for both patient groups, the BPD group showed a steeper decline. Severity of childhood sexual abuse, adult history of rape, adult history of partner violence, and IQ were multivariate predictors of dissociation among patients with BPD. Taken together, the present findings suggest that a combination of interpersonal trauma exposure and cognitive abilities may contribute to the severity of dissociation in adult patients with BPD.

First responders (FRs) are continuously exposed to critical incidents, considered traumatic events (TEs). This cumulative exposure increases the risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, there is no evidence about the relationship between PTSD symptoms and emergency decision-making (EDM). The objective of this study was to examine the EDM of FRs during a virtual reality through the simulation of two emergency scenarios to collect data on the reaction time and the number of incorrect decisions. We also assessed PTSD symptoms, TE, and sociodemographics. The sample included 368 Portuguese FRs, were 295 (80.20%) males and 73 (19.80%) females, with a mean age of 33.96 (SD  = 9.38). Considering the probable PTSD diagnosis according to the DSM-5, 85 (23.10%) of the FRs met the criteria. These individuals who meet the criteria exhibited higher EDM scores (M  = 19.60, SD  = 5.99) compared to those without probable PTSD (M  = 17.87, SD = .5.66) (F(1, 360) = 5.32, p = .02, partial η² = .015). We found that TEs had a direct effect on EDM, β = -.16, Z = -3.74, p < .001), and the pathway of trauma-PTSD symptoms-decision-making an indirect effect, β = .02, Z  = 3.10, p = .002). Individuals exposed to more TEs demonstrated faster and more accurate decision-making in the context of EDM. However, when these individuals developed PTSD symptoms, their decision-making became slower and less accurate. The inclusion of a trauma-informed approach for FRs to prevent individual and job-related consequences is discussed.

Victims of traumatic events that involve repeated interpersonal aggression and low or no chance of escape frequently report intense Self-Conscious Emotions (SCEs), such as Shame, Guilt, and Humiliation. Humiliation is the reaction to a forced loss of status and is hypothesized to have unique contributions to the development and maintenance of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD). However, previous studies did not include humiliation or did not simultaneously probe the relative contribution of each SCE to posttraumatic symptoms. This study aimed to investigate the dynamics between specific SCEs and trauma-related symptomatology in the general population who suffered a form of complex trauma. Four hundred forty-nine people (77.11% women) exposed to domestic violence and sexual abuse answered an online survey. We investigated whether each emotion would accurately predict probable PTSD and CPTSD levels above the proposed cutoff. We estimated a network model to understand the dynamics of their interactions and whether the traumatic event type would moderate relationships between SCEs and posttraumatic stress symptoms, comparing networks of two types of complex trauma. No SCE predicted PTSD, but humiliation was a predictor of CPTSD while controlling for Shame and Guilt. Humiliation was also the most central SCE domain in the networks of both traumatic events. Our results stress the relevance of Humiliation to understanding posttraumatic stress symptoms and the necessity to consider humiliation when studying the emotional processing in complex trauma.

Higher lifetime trauma exposure and increased peritraumatic dissociation (PD) are well-known predictors of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms following new trauma (prospective PTSD symptoms). The interplay between those factors, however, is not well established. In this study, we aimed to assess whether PD mediates the influence of lifetime trauma exposure on prospective PTSD symptoms. A total of 387 adults visiting five emergency departments who had experienced a traumatic event within 72 hours completed baseline assessments on lifetime trauma exposure count and PD. PTSD symptoms were assessed 1 month later. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the mediation effect of PD in the relationship between lifetime trauma exposure count and 1-month PTSD symptoms. We found that PD mediated the association between lifetime trauma exposure count and 1-month PTSD symptoms, even after accounting for some confounders. However, the mediation was partial, accounting for 17.9% of the lifetime trauma exposure count's total effect. While this finding is significant, it also suggests that additional mechanisms beyond PD play a role in explaining the influence of higher lifetime trauma exposure on prospective PTSD symptoms. These findings provide valuable insights into the complex dynamics of PTSD development and call for further research to explore complementary factors and preventive strategies.