Self-reported Traumatic Experiences Research Articles

The impact of childhood traumatization on diabetes mellitus type 2 (T2D) risk in World War II refugees and their offspring.

T2D is a chronic disease that is influenced by different factors. The extent to which degree adverse childhood events (ACEs) can modify the potential to development of T2D is still not explored and therefore represents one of the central questions of the CELLO (childhood escape - late life outcome, DRKS00012419) study. In addition, transgenerational effects were considered in the analyses. The study analyzed the association of self-reported traumatic experiences and T2D disease of refugees from East Prussia, who were displaced from their former homeland at the end of the World War II. In addition, an independent sample consisting of participants of first-generation offspring of refugees was analyzed. Of the 242 refugees, all aged between 73 and 93, 17.36% reported T2D disease, while among the offspring (n = 272), aged between 47 and 73, it was 5.5%, meaning reduced T2D prevalence for both generations compared to the German population of comparable age. In the refugee generation, emotional neglect showed a negative association with development of T2D in later life. In women, separation from close caregivers in childhood showed a negative association with later T2D. In contrast, experiencing emotional abuse in childhood showed a positive association with later T2D. The offspring generation showed no associations of ACEs and reported T2D diagnoses in later life. Our results demonstrate that individual trauma in childhood is responded to with different mechanisms that can lead to both increased and decreased reported T2D diagnoses in adulthood and thus should by no means be considered in a generalized manner.

How Is the History of Early Traumatic Exposure Associated With the Psychopathological Outcomes of COVID-19 Related Lockdown and Subsequent Re-opening in People With Eating Disorders?

The negative impact of COVID-19 pandemic on people with Eating Disorders (EDs) has been documented. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether a history of traumatic experiences during childhood or adolescence was associated with a higher degree of psychopathological worsening during COVID-19 related lockdown and in the following re-opening period in this group of people. People with EDs undergoing a specialist ED treatment in different Italian services before the spreading of COVID-19 pandemic (n = 312) filled in an online survey to retrospectively evaluate ED specific and general psychopathology changes after COVID-19 quarantine. Based on the presence of self-reported traumatic experiences, the participants were split into three groups: patients with EDs and no traumatic experiences, patients with EDs and childhood traumatic experiences, patients with EDs and adolescent traumatic experiences. Both people with or without early traumatic experiences reported retrospectively a worsening of general and ED-specific psychopathology during the COVID 19-induced lockdown and in the following re-opening period. Compared to ED participants without early traumatic experiences, those with a self-reported history of early traumatic experiences reported heightened anxious and post-traumatic stress symptoms, ineffectiveness, body dissatisfaction, and purging behaviors. These differences were seen before COVID-19 related restrictions as well as during the lockdown period and after the easing of COVID-19 related restrictions. In line with the “maltreated ecophenotype” theory, these results may suggest a clinical vulnerability of maltreated people with EDs leading to a greater severity in both general and ED-specific symptomatology experienced during the exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Correlates of post-traumatic growth among nursing professionals: A cross-sectional analysis.

Among nursing professionals, our aims were to examine (a) self-reported traumatic experiences, (b) differences in post-traumatic growth (i.e. positive psychological growth after experiencing a traumatic event) by nursing professional level and (c) demographic, work-related, behavioural and traumatic experience covariates of post-traumatic growth. Trauma experience among nursing professionals is higher than observed in the general population. Due to the nature of their work environment, workplace trauma rates are particularly alarming. Understanding post-traumatic growth among nursing professionals may guide interventions to enhance well-being. A secondary analysis of cross-sectional survey data from nursing professionals (N=299). Demographic, work-related, behavioural, trauma experience categories and post-traumatic growth variables were examined. Advanced practice nurses and clinical nurses reported higher rates of workplace trauma, as compared to nursing assistants. Higher post-traumatic growth scores were associated with having a postgraduate degree, serving the paediatric population and lower frequency of alcohol use. Lower post-traumatic growth scores were associated with being married/widowed, being an advanced practice provider or clinical nurse, working in the intensive care unit and reporting workplace, family/personal stress and undisclosed trauma. Nursing professionals have several demographic, work-related, behavioural and traumatic experience-related variables associated with and that explain variances in post-traumatic growth. Targeted screening and individualized treatment based on nursing professional level should be considered to support trauma recovery and post-traumatic growth.

Trauma and trichotillomania: A tenuous relationship

Some have argued that hair pulling in trichotillomania (TTM) is triggered by traumatic events, but reliable evidence linking trauma to TTM is limited. However, research has shown that hair pulling is associated with emotion regulation, suggesting a connection between negative affect and TTM. We investigated the associations between trauma, negative affect, and hair pulling in a cross-sectional sample of treatment seeking adults with TTM (N=85). In the current study, participants’ self-reported traumatic experiences were assessed during a structured clinical interview, and participants completed several measures of hair pulling severity, global TTM severity, depression, anxiety, experiential avoidance, and quality of life. Those who experienced trauma had more depressive symptoms, increased experiential avoidance, and greater global TTM severity. Although the presence of a trauma history was not related to the severity of hair pulling symptoms in the past week, depressive symptoms mediated the relationship between traumatic experiences and global TTM severity. These findings cast doubt on the notion that TTM is directly linked to trauma, but suggest that trauma leads to negative affect that individuals cope with through hair pulling. Implications for the conceptualization and treatment of TTM are discussed.

Personality compensates for impaired quality of life and social functioning in patients with psychotic disorders who experienced traumatic events.

Patients with psychotic disorders who experienced childhood trauma show more social dysfunction than patients without traumatic experiences. However, this may not hold for all patients with traumatic experiences. Little is known about the potential compensating role of Five-Factor Model personality traits within this group, despite their strong predictive value for social functioning and well-being in the general population. Our sample consisted of 195 patients with psychotic disorders (74% diagnosed with schizophrenia) and 132 controls. Cluster analyses were conducted to identify and validate distinct personality profiles. General linear model analyses were conducted to examine whether patients with different profiles differed in social functioning and quality of life (QoL), while controlling for possible confounders. Mediation models were tested to assess potential causal links. In general, patients with higher levels of self-reported traumatic experiences (PT+) showed lower QoL and more social withdrawal compared with patients with lower traumatic experiences (PT-). Two clusters reflecting personality profiles were identified. PT+ with the first profile (lower neuroticism and higher extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness) presented higher levels of QoL and better social functioning in several areas, including less withdrawal, compared with both PT+ and PT- with the second profile. PT+ and PT- with the first personality profile did not differ in QoL and social functioning. Mediation analyses suggested that personality traits mediate the relation between traumatic experiences and QoL and social withdrawal. Our findings indicate that personality may "buffer" the impact of childhood traumatic experiences on functional outcome in patients with psychotic disorders.

Associations between early life stress, self-reported traumatic experiences across the lifespan and leukocyte telomere length in elderly adults

Early life stress (ELS) poses a risk for mental disorders and aging-related diseases. Accelerated biological aging, reflected in shorter leukocyte telomere length (LTL), may underlie these risks. We examined whether objectively recorded ELS and retrospectively self-reported traumatic experiences across the lifespan are associated with LTL in later adulthood. Of 1486 participants, 215 had been exposed to ELS, namely to temporary separation from both parents in childhood. Participants self-reported emotionally or physically traumatic experiences across the lifespan at a mean age of 63.2 years. LTL was measured using a quantitative PCR method at a mean age of 61.5 years. Separation or self-reported traumatic experiences were not associated with LTL. However, separated participants who self-reported traumatic experiences had shorter LTL. Our results suggest that while ELS or self-reported traumatic experiences are not per se associated with LTL measured decades later, ELS may in combination with self-reported traumatic events be associated with accelerated biological aging.

The relationship between somatization and posttraumatic symptoms among immigrants receiving primary care services*

Traumatic experiences and somatization are related in studies on complex trauma, though this relation is rarely studied in immigrants. The relationship between somatization and self-reported traumatic experiences and posttraumatic symptoms in patients attending a primary care service for immigrants was studied. The sample consisted of 101 patients attending a primary healthcare service dedicated to immigrants. Participants completed two self-assessment questionnaires specifically designed for use in transcultural research: the Bradford Somatic Inventory and the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire. Both were translated and back-translated into eight languages. Somatization was significantly related to traumatic events and posttraumatic symptoms. In primary care centers for immigrants, physicians should give particular attention to somatization as a possible sign of unreported posttraumatic symptoms.

Psychoform and somatoform dissociation, traumatic experiences, and fantasy proneness in somatoform disorders

Many studies reported a positive correlation between self-reported traumatic experiences and self-reported dissociative symptoms. Critics postulated that this relation is mediated by the personality trait fantasy proneness. This was confirmed by a number of studies, that mainly used non-clinical samples. The present study was carried out in a clinical sample of patients with somatoform disorders ( n = 86). Participants completed the Dissociation Experiences Scale-Revised Edition (DES-II), Somatoform Dissociation Questionnaire (SDQ-20), Traumatic Experiences Checklist (TEC) and Creative Experiences Questionnaire (CEQ). Results show that both psychoform and somatoform dissociation are moderately correlated with traumatic experiences, and that the mediating influence of fantasy proneness on the relation is negligible. It is argued that the mediating role of fantasy proneness found in previous studies may be an artefact of student samples.

Fantasy proneness, but not self-reported trauma is related to DRM performance of women reporting recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse

Extending a strategy previously used by Clancy, Schacter, McNally, and Pitman (2000), we administered a neutral and a trauma-related version of the Deese–Roediger–McDermott paradigm to a sample of women reporting recovered ( n = 23) or repressed memories ( n = 16) of childhood sexual abuse (CSA), women reporting having always remembered their abuse ( n = 55), and women reporting no history of abuse ( n = 20). We found that individuals reporting recovered memories of CSA are more prone than other participants to falsely recalling and recognizing neutral words that were never presented. Moreover, our study is the first to show that this finding even held when trauma-related material was involved. Correlational analyses revealed that fantasy proneness, but not self-reported traumatic experiences and dissociative symptoms were related to false recall and false recognition.

The causal link between self-reported trauma and dissociation: a critical review

The idea that traumatic experiences cause dissociative symptoms is a recurrent theme in clinical literature. The present article summarizes evidence that cast doubts on the commonly voiced view that the connection between self-reported trauma and dissociation is a simple and robust one. It is argued that: (1) the correlations between self-reported traumatic experiences and dissociative symptoms reported in the literature are, at best, modest; (2) other factors may act as a third variable in the relationship between trauma and dissociation; and (3) high scores on the Dissociative Experiences Scale are accompanied by fantasy proneness, heightened suggestibility, and susceptibility to pseudomemories. These correlates of dissociation may promote a positive response bias to retrospective self-report instruments of traumatic experiences. Thus, the possibility that dissociation encourages self-reported traumatic experiences rather than vice versa merits investigation. While attractive, simple models in which trauma directly causes dissociation are unlikely to be true.

“MARRYING MY RAPIST?!”

This study conceptualizes rape trauma as embedded in the cultural construction of rape and consequently manifested in the psychological process of individual rape survivors. The author conducted indepth interviews with 35 female rape survivors in Taiwan to examine their self-reported traumatic experiences in relation to the cultural meaning of rape in Chinese society. In analyzing the interview accounts, this study identified several kinds of trauma predominantly experienced among the interviewed rape survivors. This study found that the psychological trauma among individual rape survivors in Taiwan, although similar to rape trauma symptoms documented in Western literature, seems to manifest a relatively distinct cultural construction of rape in Chinese society. Study implications for rape-related educational and treatment programs in Taiwan are suggested in the context of Chinese cultural construction of rape.

Self-Reported traumatic experiences and dissociative symptoms in obese women with and without binge-eating disorder

A group of 29 obese women with Binge Eating Disorder (OB-BED) and 35 obese subjects without this disorder (OB) were compared on the presence or absence of traumatic experiences and dissociative symptoms with the Dissociation Questionnaire (DIS-Q). OB-BED subjects showed significantly higher scores on two subscales of the DIS-Q (identity confusion and loss of control). They also reported significantly more traumatic experiences than the OB sample. These data further support the assumption that among eating disorder patients, both traumatic experiences and dissociative symptoms are more prevalent when patients show serious binge eating.

Dissociative phenomena in women with borderline personality disorder

This study was conducted to determine whether trauma variables and certain behavioral correlates are differentially prevalent in borderline personality disorder patients with greater and those with lesser dissociative experience. Subjects were 62 female inpatients, all meeting DSM-III-R criteria for borderline personality disorder, 14 of whom also had a concomitant dissociative disorder diagnosis. Structured interviews and published scales were used to collect data addressing a priori hypotheses. Univariate analyses supported hypotheses that patients with borderline personality disorder and greater dissociative experience are characterized by more self-reported traumatic experiences, posttraumatic symptoms, behavioral dyscontrol, self-injurious behavior, and alcohol abuse. Multivariate analyses suggested that scores on the Dissociative Experiences Scale were predicted particularly by adult sexual assault, behavioral dyscontrol, and both sexual and physical abuse in childhood. These results support the use of the Dissociative Experience Scale as a brief screening instrument to aid in the identification of borderline personality disorder patients with prominent posttraumatic and dissociative disorders. Patients with borderline personality disorder seem to be characterized by somewhat different life experiences, treatment histories, and behavioral presentations depending on their level of dissociative experience, even though they meet the same DSM-III-R criteria. Neither extreme view of the overlap in diagnostic populations was supported.