The Effects of Torture in the Context of COVID-19 and Continuous Type III Trauma’s Variants: The Peri-Post Type III Trauma Mental Health Syndrome in Syrian Torture Survivors

Abstract

The goal was to explore the applicability of the continuous traumatic stress type-III paradigm to the torture’s interface with other ongoing traumatic stressors (e.g., COVID-19 and discrimination) and other adversities' impact. On a sample of 891 Syrian internally displaced (461 torture survivors), we measured cumulative trauma, COVID-19 stressors, and the peri-post type III trauma syndrome (i.e., CPTSD, PTSD, depression, anxiety, and executive functions). We conducted t-test and structural equation modeling. Torture predicted higher COVID-19 stressors and the peri-post type III trauma syndrome. Intersected discrimination amplified the effects of torture. The conceptual and clinical implications of these findings were discussed.