Assessing the mediating role of emotion regulation and experiential avoidance within a posttraumatic stress disorder and racial trauma framework.

OBJECTIVE: Theoretical and empirical evidence has begun to delineate posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and racial trauma, but the degree to which individual psychological processes differ in the development of these two outcomes remains limited. Despite key distinctions in etiology and phenotypic presentations, prominent PTSD risk factors such as difficulties in emotion regulation and experiential avoidance (EA) may also contribute to the development of racial trauma. The goal of the present cross-sectional study was to investigate how difficulties in emotion regulation and EA differ in their associations with PTSD and racial trauma. METHOD: For this study, racial and ethnic minority undergraduate students completed a battery of questionnaires including the Everyday Discrimination Scale, Brief Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire, Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, Trauma Symptoms of Discrimination Scale, and the PTSD checklist for DSM-5. RESULTS: A path model suggested emotion regulation difficulties and EA significantly mediated the relationship between perceived discrimination and PTSD symptoms. However, only emotion regulation difficulties mediated the relationship between perceived discrimination and racial trauma symptoms. Compared to racial trauma, pairwise comparisons suggested that emotion regulation difficulties and EA indirect effects were significantly greater when predicting PTSD symptoms. Additionally, the effects of emotion regulation difficulties were greater than EA when predicting PTSD symptoms and racial trauma. CONCLUSION: Findings of the present study suggest individual psychological factors may play a lesser role in the development of racial trauma compared to PTSD symptoms. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The dynamic relationship of negative emotional content in the context of trauma-focused writing interventions on improvements in cognitive reappraisal: A pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: Writing about traumatic experiences is beneficial for the reduction of posttraumatic stress symptoms, yet little research has examined the linguistic content of trauma-focused writing interventions. The current pilot study had two aims (a) characterize changes in linguistic features in two trauma-focused writing interventions; and (b) examine how changes in linguistic content may be associated with proposed mechanisms of change in trauma treatment (i.e., emotion regulation, cognitive reappraisal, and experiential avoidance). METHOD: Data were a secondary analysis of a proof-of-concept trial of written exposure therapy (WET) compared to trauma-focused expressive writing. Participants (N = 33, 76% female) completed five virtual sessions and measures of emotion regulation, posttraumatic cognitions, and experiential avoidance. Reliable change was calculated for each mechanism pre/postintervention. Linguistic inquiry and word count (Boyd et al., 2022) was used to analyze linguistic content (i.e., negative emotion words, past tense, cognitive processing, and death-related content). RESULTS: Group differences emerged in slopes of narrative content across time for negative emotion words (b = 0.3, p = .008), past tense (b = -1.45, p < .01), and causal language (b = 0.39, p = .002). Contrary to expectations, only the slope of change in negative emotion words was associated with reliable changes in posttraumatic cognitions (b = -0.59, p = .023). CONCLUSIONS: Findings contribute evidence to support the use of negative emotion words early in treatment as a potentially influential target for improving posttraumatic cognitions in WET. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Comparing written exposure therapy delivered via telehealth to trauma-focused expressive writing in undergraduates: A proof-of-concept trial.

The literature demonstrates that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) rates are estimated to be higher on college campuses compared to lifetime estimates in the general population. Written exposure therapy (WET) is a promising brief intervention for posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) with a growing literature of evidence suggesting efficacy, lower drop-out rates compared to other evidence-based protocols, and long-term treatment gains. This proof-of-concept study examined the efficacy of WET delivered via telehealth compared to expressive writing (EW), the protocol from which WET was derived. The sample included non-treatment-seeking trauma-exposed undergraduate students (N = 33) with elevated PTSS. The results suggest that both WET, g = 1.26, and EW, g = 0.61, were associated with within-person decreases in PTSS. However, reliable change indices indicated that a significantly larger proportion of individuals in the WET condition (61.5%) demonstrated reliable symptom improvement compared to those who received EW (20.0%), g = 0.91. Contrary to our hypotheses, the WET and EW groups did not differ on reliable slopes of change; however, between-group effects were underpowered and should be interpreted with caution. These findings offer preliminary support for WET delivered via telehealth, including for individuals with subthreshold PTSS.

The Indirect Effect of Avoidant Motives for Sex on the Pathways From Childhood Maltreatment to Risky Sex Behaviors.

Literature supports a strong link between engagement in risky sex and childhood maltreatment, with engagement in risky sexual behavior proposed as a manifestation of avoidant coping. Sex motives refer to underlying motivations for engaging in sex such as increased intimacy, or peer pressure. Limited research has examined the role of sex motives on the relationship between childhood maltreatment and risky sex. This study sought to examine this path between childhood maltreatment types and later engagement in risky sex through sex motivations that seek to avoid or reduce negative affect (i.e., sex to cope and sex to affirm self-esteem). A sample of sexually active undergraduate women (n = 551) completed a series of questionnaires on childhood maltreatment, risky sexual behavior, and motivations for sexual intercourse as part of a larger parent study on revictimization. Path analysis was conducted to examine differential indirect effects of childhood maltreatment on risky sex (i.e., sex with a stranger and hookup behaviors). Results suggested sex to cope with negative affect mediated the relationship between emotional abuse, sexual abuse, physical neglect, and hookup behavior. Only an indirect path between childhood emotional abuse and sex with a stranger was identified through sex to cope. Emotional abuse was the only maltreatment to predict sex to affirm, but sex to affirm did not predict risky sex outcomes. Findings provide support for differential pathways from various forms of childhood maltreatment, specifically sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and physical neglect, to increased risky sex as a manifestation of avoidant coping. Furthermore, results support the call for more inclusion of nonsexual forms of childhood maltreatment in studies of risky sex and avoidant coping as a potential intervention target for risky sexual behavior regardless of childhood maltreatment type.

Mental health service utilization following a campus mass shooting: The role of preshooting emotion dysregulation and posttraumatic cognitions.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated preshooting emotion dysregulation and posttraumatic cognitions as predictors of mental health service utilization ([MHU]; i.e., therapy/medication) among undergraduate women following a campus mass shooting, controlling for time, age, and postshooting posttraumatic stress (PTS) and depressive symptoms. METHOD: Undergraduate women (N = 483, Mage = 19.23, SD = 2.39) were engaged in a study when a mass shooting occurred on Northern Illinois University's campus. A separate, longitudinal study was then implemented to monitor postshooting adjustment among these same women. The present study examined predictors of MHU using data from the preshooting assessment and the following postshooting timepoints: 9 months (T1; n = 416); 14 months (T2; n = 416); 20 months (T3; n = 417); 26 months (T4; n = 405); and 33 months (T5; n = 397). RESULTS: Multilevel models showed preshooting emotion dysregulation and postshooting PTS and depressive symptoms positively predicted increased likelihood of MHU while controlling for covariates. Posttraumatic cognitions initially predicted increased therapy utilization, but this relationship became nonsignificant after accounting for preshooting emotion dysregulation. Preshooting emotion dysregulation also weakened the positive relationship between depressive symptoms and therapy utilization and strengthened the positive relationship between age and therapy utilization. CONCLUSIONS: Preshooting emotion dysregulation and postshooting mental health symptoms were the most robust predictors of increased MHU following a mass shooting. Findings suggest women exposed to a mass shooting engage in treatment when needed, but preexisting emotion dysregulation may serve as a barrier for those who go on to develop depression. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Examining a brief self-compassion intervention for emotion regulation in individuals with exposure to trauma.

OBJECTIVE: Research suggests that the overuse of maladaptive emotion regulation strategies, such as avoidance, represents a vulnerability following trauma exposure. Conversely, self-compassion, which impacts emotion regulation through the acceptance of negative emotions, may be an adaptive strategy for managing posttraumatic stress (PTS). METHOD: An experimental design was used to examine whether a single-session of self-compassion training improved self-compassion and decreased difficulties in emotion regulation, compared to muscle relaxation training, for trauma-exposed undergraduates. RESULTS: Findings replicated previous research among these three constructs (PTS, self-compassion, and difficulties with emotion regulation), with relationships found in the expected directions. However, there was not conclusive evidence to suggest that participating in a brief self-compassion intervention was more effective for reducing difficulties with emotion regulation than participating in a muscle relaxation training intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Results supported inverse associations between self-compassion and posttraumatic stress, as well as self-compassion and difficulties with emotion regulation. Future research is needed to investigate how self-compassion skills training can be best utilized to produce clinically significant and long-lasting changes in emotion regulation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Childhood Maltreatment and Risky Substance Use Behaviors: The Mediating Roles of Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms & Callous Unemotional Traits.

Background: A robust relationship has been established between childhood maltreatment and risky substance use. Posttraumatic stress symptoms and callous-unemotional (CU) traits, both of which can be consequences of childhood maltreatment, have been implicated as potential mediators of this relationship, but despite phenotypic overlap have not been examined within the same model. Objective: The current cross-sectional study examined the indirect effect of childhood maltreatment severity on risky drug and alcohol use behaviors though PTSS and CU traits. Methods: Undergraduates (n = 355, 54.4% female) with childhood maltreatment histories completed questionnaires regarding childhood maltreatment, PTSS, substance use behaviors, and CU traits. Path modeling was utilized to examine indirect effects of childhood maltreatment on risky alcohol and drug use behaviors. Results: Overall the model demonstrated good fit. PTSS and CU traits were found to fully mediate the childhood maltreatment severity to risky alcohol use behaviors, with PTSS demonstrating a trending mediational effect to risky drug usage. Results support multiple pathways to risky alcohol use for individuals with childhood maltreatment histories through PTSS and CU traits, suggesting both PTSS as well as CU traits as potential targets of intervention for alcohol misuse among individuals with childhood maltreatment experiences.

Psychometric Properties of the Institutional Betrayal Questionnaire, Version 2: Evidence for a Two-Factor Model.

Institutional betrayal reflects the failings of a trusted institution to prevent or respond appropriately to negative experiences. Following sexual assault, survivors who encounter institutional betrayal may experience greater distress and poorer functioning. The current study sought to assess the construct validity of the Institutional Betrayal Questionnaire, Version 2 (IBQ.2) and evaluate its factor structure. Survivors of sexual assault (N = 426) were recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk and completed various questionnaires related to mental health, disclosure and assault characteristics, world beliefs, and rape myth adherence. The IBQ.2 demonstrated convergent validity with disclosure to formal support providers, assault severity, turning against reactions, and beliefs about self-control, and evidenced discriminant validity with disclosure timing, rape myth adherence, and beliefs about randomness and controllability of outcomes. Notably, the IBQ.2 was unrelated to measures of distress, including symptoms of stress, depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder, providing mixed evidence for the IBQ.2's construct validity. Confirmatory factor analyses failed to replicate the single-factor model of institutional betrayal found in a previous study, and, instead, suggested a two-factor structure of the IBQ.2 that delineates between the promotion of and response to sexual victimization. Post hoc analyses revealed that only one of the two factors (Response to Sexual Victimization) evidenced convergent and discriminant validity largely consistent with the single-factor model. The novelty of these relationships and factor structure of the IBQ.2 found in the current study warrants replication in future research.

Understanding Gender Differences in Rape Victim Blaming: The Power of Social Influence and Just World Beliefs.

Victims of sexual violence are frequently blamed by friends, family, or legal personnel in the aftermath of an attack, with men attributing greater blame on average than women. Victims' experiences of being blamed may generate a vicious cycle in which they are more likely to be blamed in the future. Moreover, just world beliefs (JWB) have been studied extensively as an underlying cognitive mechanism that predicts greater blame. Studies examining the influence of social support on blame have yet to examine the unique role of JWB on these attributions. The current study examined blame attribution of a fictional rape victim who received either positive, negative, or neutral support from friends and family in a sample of 383 undergraduate men and women. Individually, social support and JWB were both significant predictors of blame, and women were more influenced by social support than men; specifically, gender was a more salient predictor of blame toward the positively supported victim, suggesting that positive support received by friends and family may evoke a domino effect of support from other women. Conditional effects revealed that JWB were most influential on blame when responding to the positively supported victim. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Institutional Betrayal: Who Is Most Vulnerable?

Institutional betrayal occurs when, following sexual victimization, institutions create hostile environments which normalize sexual violence, make it difficult to report the experience, mishandle the complaint, attempt to cover up the experience, or retaliate against survivors. These responses are not uncommon and have been linked to adverse survivor outcomes such as dissociation, anxiety, sexual dysfunction, poorer physical health, and depression, yet little is known about which survivors are most at risk for experiencing institutional betrayal. Using a sample of 404 sexual assault survivors recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk, the current study employed logistic regression to identify risk factors for institutional betrayal. The findings indicate that institutional betrayal is more likely to be reported by survivors who identify as heterosexual, were older at the time of the assault, and endorse more severe PTSD symptoms yet, unexpectedly, less severe distress severity. Gender, race, assault characteristics, and disclosure tendencies did not significantly predict institutional betrayal risk. Although some relationships may be bidirectional, the results suggest that survivors already at risk for some negative post-assault outcomes may be particularly at risk for institutional betrayal.

Reappraisal Bias and Sexual Victimization: Testing the Utility of a Computerized Intervention for Negative Post-Assault Support Experiences.

Women are at notable risk for negative reactions from others following sexual victimization which serve to intensify negative post-traumatic outcomes. The current study tested the effectiveness of cognitive bias modification-appraisal (CBM-App) training targeting post-traumatic cognitions theorized to be impacted by positive and negative social support with 45 female undergraduates, grouped by experiencing overall positive or negative post-assault support. Whereas all participants experienced improvements in post-traumatic cognitions at 1-week follow-up, a crossover effect for intrusion symptoms was found; CBM-App training reduced intrusions in participants with negative support experiences yet increased intrusions in participants with positive support experiences. While findings highlight the need for careful selection of post-trauma interventions, the study is the first to integrate findings from CBM-App, sexual assault, and social support literature. Socially relevant post-traumatic cognitions appear to be malleable and may be an important focus of treatment for survivors who experienced negative post-assault support.

Neurophysiological responses to safety signals and the role of cardiac vagal control.

BACKGROUND: Deficits in safety signal learning are well-established in fear-related disorders (e.g., PTSD, phobias). The current study used a fear conditioning paradigm to test associations among eye blink startle and event-related brain potential (ERP) latency measures of safety signal learning, as well as the role of cardiac vagal control (a measure of top-down inhibition necessary for safety learning). METHODS: Participants were 49 trauma-exposed women ages 17 to 28 years. Eyeblink startle response and ERP amplitudes/latencies were derived for conditioned stimuli associated (CS+) and not associated (CS-) with an aversive unconditioned stimulus. ERPs included the P100 and late positive potential (LPP), which index early visual processing and sustained emotional encoding, respectively. Cardiac vagal control was assessed with resting heart rate variability (HRV). RESULTS: P100 and LPP latencies for the CS- (safety signal stimulus) were significantly negatively associated with startle to the CS-, but not the CS + . LPP CS- latencies were significantly negatively associated with PTSD Intrusion scores, and this relationship was moderated by vagal control, such that the effect was only present among those with low HRV. CONCLUSIONS: ERP-based markers of safety signal learning were associated with startle response to the CS- (but not CS+) and PTSD symptoms, indicating that these markers may have relevance for fear-related disorders. Cardiac vagal control indexed by HRV is a moderating factor in these associations and may be relevant to safety signal learning.

Common Symptom Presentations in Individuals With Probable Comorbid Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are heterogeneous disorders that share common underlying factors, etiology, and symptoms. A small body of literature suggests common OCD symptom presentations may exist for this comorbid group, yet common comorbid PTSD symptom presentations remain unknown. The current study examined common symptom presentations in individuals with probable comorbid OCD + PTSD compared with those with a sole presentation of probable OCD or PTSD, controlling for overlapping symptoms, using a sample of 133 undergraduates. Individuals who exceeded cutoffs for probable OCD + PTSD endorse more severe OCD symptoms overall but report similar levels of PTSD symptoms compared with the respective diagnostic groups. Logistic regressions found that symptom domains present similarly overall in a comorbid presentation compared with the respective diagnostic groups, yet some OCD symptom domains were significantly more severe in the comorbid group compared with individuals with probable PTSD. Explanations for the unique contributions of symptoms are discussed, and clinical recommendations for addressing these domains are provided.

Experiential avoidance as a mediator in the relationship between shame and posttraumatic stress disorder: The effect of gender.

OBJECTIVE: The current study sought to investigate whether experiential avoidance (EA) mediates the effect of shame on posttraumatic symptoms (PTS) in a population of trauma-exposed individuals. Given demonstrated gender differences in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the current cross-sectional study also sought to examine whether gender moderates this mediational proposed effect. EA has been shown to mediate shame and depression symptoms, suggesting that the unwillingness to feel and/or the attempt to control shame may be an important factor in later psychopathological symptoms. Furthermore, EA appears to influence PTS over time. METHOD: Trauma-exposed undergraduates (n = 326, 68.8% male, Mage = 19.35, SD = 2.30) at a large Midwestern university completed measures of shame, EA, and PTS. RESULTS: EA was found to fully mediate the relationship between shame and PTS. The role of gender was mixed as it moderated the relationship between EA and PTS such that the effect of EA is stronger for men than women; however, when analyzed with more robust methods, the effect of gender was no longer significant. A competing, flipped mediational model was run to further assess the direction of hypothesized relationships, but shame was not a significant mediator of EA and PTSD symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Results provide further evidence for the centrality of EA in maintaining PTS and suggest targeting EA rather than shame in treatment as an avenue for intervention. Future research is needed to investigate gender differences in engagement in EA. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Emotion regulation in undergraduate students with posttraumatic stress symptoms: A multimethod study.

Objective: Existing literature suggests strong positive associations between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and emotion regulation difficulties; however, many of these findings are the result of monomethodological approaches (e.g., self-report questionnaires) versus multimethodological approaches. The current study utilized both self-report questionnaires and an emotion regulation choice paradigm (see Sheppes, Scheibe, Suri, & Gross, 2011) to assess various facets of emotion dysregulation in a sample of trauma-exposed undergraduate students with varying levels of self-reported PTSD symptoms (measured by the PTSD Checklist, fifth edition). Method: Data were collected from 83 students who underwent a laboratory paradigm, followed by completion of numerous self-report measures of emotion regulation (e.g., the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II, and the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire). Results: Students with probable PTSD (n = 25) exhibited greater emotion dysregulation on self-report measures compared with students with nonprobable PTSD (n = 58; ηp² ranged from .06 to .42). Additionally, results from the emotion regulation choice paradigm suggested that students with probable PTSD were more likely to exhibit regulatory inflexibility compared with students with nonprobable PTSD (ηp² = .05). In other words, students with probable PTSD were less likely to use reappraisal (vs. distraction) to help regulate their emotions in response to low-intensity negative stimuli compared with students with nonprobable PTSD. Conclusions: Students with probable PTSD report greater perceived emotion regulation difficulties on self-report questionnaires as well as greater behavioral regulatory inflexibility during a laboratory paradigm. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Genomic influences on self-reported childhood maltreatment.

Childhood maltreatment is highly prevalent and serves as a risk factor for mental and physical disorders. Self-reported childhood maltreatment appears heritable, but the specific genetic influences on this phenotype are largely unknown. The aims of this study were to (1) identify genetic variation associated with self-reported childhood maltreatment, (2) estimate SNP-based heritability (h2snp), (3) assess predictive value of polygenic risk scores (PRS) for childhood maltreatment, and (4) quantify genetic overlap of childhood maltreatment with mental and physical health-related phenotypes, and condition the top hits from our analyses when such overlap is present. Genome-wide association analysis for childhood maltreatment was undertaken, using a discovery sample from the UK Biobank (UKBB) (n = 124,000) and a replication sample from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium-posttraumatic stress disorder group (PGC-PTSD) (n = 26,290). h2snp for childhood maltreatment and genetic correlations with mental/physical health traits were calculated using linkage disequilibrium score regression. PRS was calculated using PRSice and mtCOJO was used to perform conditional analysis. Two genome-wide significant loci associated with childhood maltreatment (rs142346759, p = 4.35 × 10-8, FOXP1; rs10262462, p = 3.24 × 10-8, FOXP2) were identified in the discovery dataset but were not replicated in PGC-PTSD. h2snp for childhood maltreatment was ~6% and the PRS derived from the UKBB was significantly predictive of childhood maltreatment in PGC-PTSD (r2 = 0.0025; p = 1.8 × 10-15). The most significant genetic correlation of childhood maltreatment was with depressive symptoms (rg = 0.70, p = 4.65 × 10-40), although we show evidence that our top hits may be specific to childhood maltreatment. This is the first large-scale genetic study to identify specific variants associated with self-reported childhood maltreatment. Speculatively, FOXP genes might influence externalizing traits and so be relevant to childhood maltreatment. Alternatively, these variants may be associated with a greater likelihood of reporting maltreatment. A clearer understanding of the genetic relationships of childhood maltreatment, including particular abuse subtypes, with a range of phenotypes, may ultimately be useful in in developing targeted treatment and prevention strategies.

The moderating effect of psychological flexibility on event centrality in determining trauma outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: Emerging research shows that event centrality, or the degree to which trauma is perceived as integral to one's worldviews and personal identity, has a substantial impact on trauma recovery. Given that high centrality fosters both distress and growth, additional research on potential moderators that could better distinguish the course of adjustment is needed. This study examined whether differences in psychological flexibility (or the ability to persist in a behavior despite urges to do otherwise) impacted posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTS) and perceived posttraumatic growth (PTG) as event centrality increased. METHOD: One-hundred and 25 college students (52% female) with a history of trauma exposure were recruited from a large Midwestern university. Participants completed an electronic survey for course credit. RESULTS: There was a significant interaction between event centrality and psychological flexibility on PTS severity (B = 2.10, p = .003). A simple slopes analysis revealed that low psychological flexibility was associated with greater PTS severity as event centrality increased. Although event centrality and psychological flexibility independently predicted perceived PTG, no interaction effect was observed (B = -4.68, p = .080). CONCLUSION: This suggests that while differences in psychological flexibility may influence PTS severity following highly centralized traumatic experiences it has a more complicated relationship with perceived PTG that requires further investigation. Clinical implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Application of PTSD alcohol expectancy symptom clusters to the four-dimensional model of PTSD: Support from moderations of the association between symptoms of posttraumatic stress and alcohol use.

OBJECTIVE: Alcohol expectancy theory, which examines beliefs about the effects of alcohol on the consumer, is especially relevant for understanding the role of alcohol use in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Previous research on the relationship between alcohol expectancies and PTSD suggests that greater endorsement of positive alcohol expectancies is positively associated with alcohol use, problem drinking, and increased PTSD symptomatology. The purpose of the current study was to investigate relationships among positive and negative PTSD alcohol expectancies, PTSD symptom clusters, and alcohol use in a sample of undergraduates. Additionally, a 4-factor structure of PTSD alcohol expectancies, based on the supported 4-domain model of PTSD, was examined. METHOD: Participants included 336 undergraduates at a large Midwestern university who completed measures of trauma exposure, PTSD symptomatology, PTSD alcohol expectancies, and alcohol use. RESULTS: Moderation analysis found positive alcohol expectancies influenced the relationship between posttraumatic stress (PTS) and alcohol use. Additionally, each of 4 proposed symptom clusters of PTSD alcohol expectancies moderated the association between corresponding PTSD symptom clusters and alcohol use. No support for the utility of negative alcohol expectancies was found. CONCLUSIONS: The current study provides support for a PTSD symptom domain-specific approach for measuring alcohol expectancies. Though limited in generalizability, this research also provides evidence for positive PTSD alcohol expectancies as an important moderator in the relationship between symptoms of PTS and alcohol, suggesting that perceptions of alcohol's effect on PTSD symptoms confer risk for problematic drinking. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

It Won't Happen to Me: An Examination of the Effectiveness of Defensive Attribution in Rape Victim Blaming.

Defensive attribution posits that victim blame results from one's underlying perception of vulnerability. The resulting blame is believed to reduce perceived similarity to the victim and vulnerability to victimization, though extant research has neglected to examine its effectiveness in men and women. The current study employed multigroup analysis structural equation modeling with 618 male and female undergraduates exposed to fictional police reports of a reported rape. The theory was partially supported; among women, defensive attribution of blame effectively reduced perceived vulnerability to sexual victimization, whereas among men, blame had no effect on perceived similarity or vulnerability. Recommendations for interventions to target perceived vulnerability are discussed.

Cumulative Trauma and Adjustment in Women Exposed to a Campus Shooting: Examining the Role of Appraisals and Social Support.

Experiencing repeated trauma can have increasingly detrimental effects on psychosocial functioning after subsequent stressors. These effects may be intensified for victims of interpersonal traumas given that these events are often associated with heightened risk for adverse outcomes. To better understand this relationship, the present study prospectively examined the effect of pre-shooting trauma exposure (i.e., interpersonal vs. non-interpersonal trauma) on psychological functioning (i.e., posttraumatic stress symptoms, depression) following a mass campus shooting. Based on previous research, it was expected that negative appraisals and social support would mediate this relationship. A sample of 515 college women reporting prior trauma exposure was assessed at four time points following the shooting (i.e., pre-shooting, 1-month, 6-months, and 12-months post-shooting). Bootstrap analyses with bias-corrected confidence intervals were conducted. Contrary to expectation, pre-shooting trauma exposure was unrelated to 12-month post-shooting outcomes and neither negative appraisals nor social support at 6-months post-shooting emerged as mediators. Interestingly, a history of non-interpersonal trauma was associated with greater post-shooting family and friend support than a history of interpersonal trauma. Ad hoc analyses showed that pre-shooting symptom severity and level of exposure to the shooting had indirect effects on post-shooting outcomes via post-shooting negative appraisals. These findings support that cumulative trauma, regardless of type, may not have an additive effect unless individuals develop clinically significant symptoms following previous trauma. Trauma severity also appears to play a meaningful role.