LIFE EVENT ATTRIBUTIONS AS A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF VULNERABILITY FOLLOWING EXPOSURE TO A TRAUMATIC EVENT

Abstract

Attributions for traumatic events have been identified as a potential source of vulnerability for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following exposure to a traumatic event. In this study, 516 undergraduates were screened for traumatic exposure and the development of significant symptoms of posttraumatic stress. Twenty-nine individuals with significant symptoms of PTSD and 29 similarly trauma-exposed individuals without significant PTSD symptomatology wrote narratives of three types of life events (pleasant, unpleasant, and traumatic) and provided attributions for those events. Trained judges who were unaware of participants' symptom status rated the attributions along the following dimensions: internal-external, global-specific, and stable-unstable. PTSD participants offered more global and stable attributions for life events generally. The relationship between attributions for actual life events and PTSD was not trauma specific, suggesting that these attributional tendencies which are associated with heightened distress following trauma may be fairly pervasive. Etiological implications and directions for future research are presented and discussed.