{"title":"Morally injurious events and posttraumatic embitterment disorder in U.K. health and social care professionals during COVID-19: A longitudinal web survey.","authors":"Chloe J Brennan, Michael T McKay, Jon C Cole","doi":"10.1037/tra0001723","DOIUrl":"10.1037/tra0001723","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To longitudinally estimate the prevalence and predictors of potentially morally injurious events (PMIEs) and posttraumatic embitterment disorder (PTED) and in U.K. health and social care workers (HSCWs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, to investigate the mechanism by which PMIEs increase embitterment by lowering personal belief in procedural justice, that is, the belief that they experience fair processes.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>An online longitudinal survey was hosted on Qualtrics between September-October 2020 and September-November 2021. Using Prolific, 400 HSCWs aged 18 or above and working in the United Kingdom during the pandemic were recruited. PMIEs were assessed using the Moral Injury Events Scale, and PTED was assessed using the PTED self-rating scale. Potential predictors were measured using surveys of exposure to occupational stressors, optimism, pessimism, self-esteem, resilient coping style, consideration of future consequences, and personal just world beliefs.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Seventy-one percent of participants experienced at least one COVID-related PMIE and 20% displayed clinically relevant signs of PTED at Time 2 in 2021. Exposure to occupational stressors increased the risk of experiencing PMIEs and PTED, whereas personal belief in a procedurally just world protected against transgressions by others and betrayal PMIEs. Self-esteem was protective, and a resilient coping style was a risk for experiencing betrayal. PMIEs increased embitterment by lowering personal belief in procedural justice over a 12-month period.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>PMIEs and PTED are being experienced by U.K. HSCWs in 2020 and 2021, particularly in those exposed to work-related stressors. Exposure to PMIEs increases the risk of embitterment by lowering belief in procedural justice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).</p>","PeriodicalId":20982,"journal":{"name":"Psychological trauma : theory, research, practice and policy","volume":" ","pages":"264-273"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141458904","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Social maltreatment as trauma: Posttraumatic correlates of a new measure of exposure to sexism, racism, and cisheterosexism.","authors":"John Briere, Marsha Runtz, Keara Rodd","doi":"10.1037/tra0001636","DOIUrl":"10.1037/tra0001636","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Maltreatment based on race, sex, or lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or other sexual and gender minorities (LGBTQ+) status is a significant life stressor, potentially independent of whether it can be categorized as a <i>Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders</i>, fifth edition, text revision (DSM-5-TR) trauma. Yet there is a relative lack of research systematically examining these events, their intersectionality, and links to posttraumatic stress (PTS). The purpose of this study was to develop a comprehensive measure of social discrimination and maltreatment (SDM) and to examine whether these events can serve as potential traumatic stressors, above-and-beyond classic trauma exposure.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>A 36-item Social Discrimination and Maltreatment Scale (SDMS), consisting of three subscales (sexism, racism, and cisheterosexism) and a total score, was developed and validated in a sample of 528 adults.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The SDMS and its subscales were internally consistent (αs from .95 to .97) and demonstrated factorial validity in two subsamples (<i>n</i>s = 265 and 263). Marginalized groups each endorsed the most relevant SDMS subscale (e.g., people of color reporting more racism and women reporting more sexism). The total SDM score was associated with PTS even when controlling for general trauma exposure, and there was a linear relationship between the number of elevated SDMS subscales and PTS scores.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Although not considered traumatic in the <i>DSM-5-TR,</i> exposure to sexism, racism, and cisheterosexism may be significant sources of PTS. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).</p>","PeriodicalId":20982,"journal":{"name":"Psychological trauma : theory, research, practice and policy","volume":" ","pages":"387-395"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139513552","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Raina V Lamade, Elise C Lopez, Samantha Calias, Elizabeth J Anderson, Mary P Koss
{"title":"Healing strategies of women who experienced sexual assault: A mixed method analysis.","authors":"Raina V Lamade, Elise C Lopez, Samantha Calias, Elizabeth J Anderson, Mary P Koss","doi":"10.1037/tra0001766","DOIUrl":"10.1037/tra0001766","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>The primary objective of this study was to identify healing strategies directly from women who experienced sexual assault and sexual exploitation. The second objective was to explore secondary themes related to healing from sexual assault. This study included two quantitative objectives. The first was to examine if the frequency of reported sexual assault experienced predicted greater coping strategies and if rape that occurred in juvenile years and during college uniquely predicted reported use of more coping strategies.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>Using a mix-method design of college women who endorsed experiencing unwanted sexual contact as part of a survey, 283 provided details about healthy healing strategies. Qualitative responses were transcribed verbatim, and thematic classification followed an iterative process. Linear regressions were used to examine the relationships between sexual assault frequency and use of coping strategies.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The most frequently endorsed categories as being helpful to one's healing were social support, proactive behavioral strategies, forgetting/ignoring/shifting focus, positive cognitive strategies, and counseling. Other themes related to healing included long-term effects, unsuccessful strategies, and posttraumatic growth. Secondary themes include validation, denial of/modified recognition of sexual assault, and specific campus environmental factors. Individuals who reported more sexual assault reported using more healing strategies.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study underscores the benefits of social support and specific strategies. Results suggest a positive relationship between the number of unwanted sexual experiences and coping strategies utilized. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).</p>","PeriodicalId":20982,"journal":{"name":"Psychological trauma : theory, research, practice and policy","volume":" ","pages":"279-288"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142018461","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mehdi Zemestani, Sarchya R Hasan, Pegah A M Seidi, Jafar Bakhshaie, Gordon J G Asmundson
{"title":"Associations of war-related PTSD symptoms with sleep disturbance: The explanatory roles of emotion regulation difficulties and intolerance of uncertainty.","authors":"Mehdi Zemestani, Sarchya R Hasan, Pegah A M Seidi, Jafar Bakhshaie, Gordon J G Asmundson","doi":"10.1037/tra0001808","DOIUrl":"10.1037/tra0001808","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Although associations between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and sleep disturbance are well-established, relatively little work has examined mechanisms that may underlie this association. This study aimed to examine the explanatory role of emotion regulation difficulties and intolerance of uncertainty (IU) in associations between PTSD symptoms and sleep disturbance among a sample of war-exposed Iraqi individuals.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>We used structural equation modeling in a war-exposed nonclinical sample (<i>N</i> = 617; <i>M</i><sub>age</sub> = 27.63; <i>SD</i> = 4.81; 46.03% females) to model indirect effects from PTSD symptoms to the sleep disturbance via emotion regulation difficulties and IU. Participants completed PTSD symptoms, sleep disturbance, difficulties in emotion regulation, and IU scales.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Significant correlations were found between PTSD symptoms and sleep disturbance. Those who reported higher levels of PTSD symptoms also reported higher levels of sleep disturbance. The structural model was an excellent fit to the data (χ² = 166.03; degrees of freedom = 32; comparative fit index = .960; goodness-of-fit index = .954; Tucker-Lewis index = .943; root-mean-square error of approximation = .082), and all hypothesized indirect effects were significant (<i>p</i>s < .001).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Findings add to the emerging body of literature examining potential mechanisms that may help to explain the maintenance or even escalation of PTSD-related sleep disturbance. Findings have clinical implications in designing specialized treatments for individuals with PTSD and suggest focusing on emotion regulation difficulties and IU as potential therapeutic targets that putatively underlie PTSD-related sleep disturbance. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).</p>","PeriodicalId":20982,"journal":{"name":"Psychological trauma : theory, research, practice and policy","volume":" ","pages":"416-428"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142786833","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tracey A Brickell, Louis M French, Megan M Wright, Jamie K Sullivan, Brian J Ivins, Nicole V Varbedian, Anice M Byrd, Rael T Lange
{"title":"Family caregivers of service members in United States Department of Defense health care report impairment in longitudinal health outcomes.","authors":"Tracey A Brickell, Louis M French, Megan M Wright, Jamie K Sullivan, Brian J Ivins, Nicole V Varbedian, Anice M Byrd, Rael T Lange","doi":"10.1037/tra0001712","DOIUrl":"10.1037/tra0001712","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To examine elevated symptoms on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) measures over 2 years in caregivers of service members with traumatic brain injury (TBI). To compare outcomes to caregivers of veterans.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>Caregivers (<i>N</i> = 315) were classified into two groups: (a) service member caregiver group (<i>n</i> = 55) and (b) veteran caregiver group (<i>n</i> = 260). Caregivers completed 17 HRQOL measures at a baseline evaluation and follow-up evaluation 24 months later.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In the service member caregiver group, the highest frequency of clinically elevated <i>T</i>-scores (≥ 60 T) at baseline and follow-up were found on physical and psychological HRQOL measures (16.4%-30.9%). A higher proportion of the veteran caregiver group had clinically elevated scores on nine measures at baseline and seven measures at follow-up. Examining the number of clinically elevated scores simultaneously across all 17 measures, the service member caregiver group had multiple elevated scores (e.g., 4 or more: baseline = 25.5%, follow-up = 27.3%). A higher proportion of the veteran caregiver group had multiple clinically elevated scores for 13 comparisons at baseline (<i>h</i> = .35-.82), but reduced to eight comparisons at follow-up (<i>h</i> = .36-.63). In the service member caregiver group, the proportion of caregivers with clinically elevated scores at baseline and follow-up was equally dispersed across persistent and newly developed symptoms, but higher for persistent symptoms compared to developed symptoms in the veteran caregiver group.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Many caregivers of service members reported clinically elevated scores across HRQOL domains and the prevalence increased over 2 years. More services for caregivers in the Department of Defense may be helpful in reducing the trajectory of newly developed symptoms long term. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).</p>","PeriodicalId":20982,"journal":{"name":"Psychological trauma : theory, research, practice and policy","volume":" ","pages":"406-415"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141446902","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kaley E Davis, Carissa W Tomas, E Kate Webb, Ashley A Huggins, Terri A deRoon-Cassini, Christine L Larson, Jacklynn M Fitzgerald
{"title":"Neural processes of emotional conflict detection and prediction of posttraumatic stress disorder symptom clusters in traumatic injury survivors.","authors":"Kaley E Davis, Carissa W Tomas, E Kate Webb, Ashley A Huggins, Terri A deRoon-Cassini, Christine L Larson, Jacklynn M Fitzgerald","doi":"10.1037/tra0001586","DOIUrl":"10.1037/tra0001586","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Given the prevalence and significant burden of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), identifying early predictors of symptom development following trauma is critical. PTSD is a heterogeneous disorder comprised of distinct symptom clusters-reexperiencing, avoidance, negative mood, and hyperarousal-that contribute to the broad range of possible symptom profiles. Affective and attentional regulation processes, such as emotional conflict detection, are impaired in individuals with PTSD; however, the neural mechanisms underlying these alterations and their predictive utility for the development of PTSD symptoms remain unclear.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>Traumatic injury survivors (<i>N</i> = 49) without traumatic brain injury were recruited from the emergency department of an urban, Level-1 trauma center. Within 1 month of trauma exposure, participants completed a well-characterized emotional conflict task during a functional magnetic resonance imaging scan. Participants returned 6-month later for a clinical assessment of PTSD symptoms. Using a region-of-interest mask derived from whole-brain voxelwise analyses during emotional conflict detection (vs. no emotional conflict detection) we examined whether differential neural activity predicted 6-month PTSD symptom cluster severity.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Greater activation of the right middle frontal gyrus during emotional conflict detection prospectively predicted lower PTSD avoidance symptom severity 6 months later (above and beyond the effects of self-reported baseline PTSD and depressive symptoms, previous traumatic life events, racial discrimination, age, sex, and injury severity).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Neural processes of emotion conflict detection measured in the early aftermath of a potentially traumatic event are useful as predictors for the development of PTSD symptoms. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).</p>","PeriodicalId":20982,"journal":{"name":"Psychological trauma : theory, research, practice and policy","volume":" ","pages":"323-330"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41238202","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Anica Pless Kaiser, Christopher B Brady, Avron Spiro
{"title":"Do appraisals of military service indicate current distress in aging Vietnam War combat veterans?","authors":"Anica Pless Kaiser, Christopher B Brady, Avron Spiro","doi":"10.1037/tra0001738","DOIUrl":"10.1037/tra0001738","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Appraisals of military service, both desirable and undesirable, assessed via Elder and Clipp's (1989) scale, are associated with psychological distress in veterans. Aging combat veterans (CV) are at increased risk for posttraumatic stress disorder and other psychological disorders yet may underreport symptoms and not seek treatment that could be beneficial. It is unknown whether desirable and undesirable appraisals of military service are associated with mental health outcomes above and beyond typical risk and protective factors, such as age, education, and combat exposure. Therefore, we examined associations between appraisals of military service and assessments of psychological distress in Vietnam War CV, currently the largest cohort of aging veterans.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>Male Vietnam War CV aged 60 and older (<i>n</i> = 134) were selected from a larger study. Regression analyses examined the associations between appraisals of military service and measures of physical and psychological well-being and distress.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Both desirable and undesirable appraisals of military service exhibited associations with measures of psychological distress, with undesirable appraisals being more strongly associated with distress than desirable appraisals. In regression analyses, appraisals were related to mental health outcomes over and above covariates. In addition, appraisals were more strongly related to psychological versus physical well-being measures, with undesirable appraisals more strongly related to mental health and well-being measures than desirable appraisals.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Assessing appraisals of military service may identify veterans experiencing psychological distress who may benefit from referral for psychological interventions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).</p>","PeriodicalId":20982,"journal":{"name":"Psychological trauma : theory, research, practice and policy","volume":" ","pages":"438-445"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141634284","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Adam P McGuire, Madeline Rodenbaugh, Binh An N Howard, Ateka A Contractor
{"title":"Response styles to positive affect during a positive psychology intervention for veterans with PTSD and moral injury: Preliminary results from a moral elevation intervention pilot trial.","authors":"Adam P McGuire, Madeline Rodenbaugh, Binh An N Howard, Ateka A Contractor","doi":"10.1037/tra0001774","DOIUrl":"10.1037/tra0001774","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or moral injury are at risk of maladaptive response styles to positive emotions, such as emotional numbing. A potential pathway to target problematic responses to positive affect is a positive psychology intervention that elicits moral elevation-feeling inspired after witnessing someone perform a virtuous act. This study aims to examine responses to positive affect in a pilot trial of a web-based moral elevation intervention titled, <i>MOVED: Moral Elevation Online Intervention for Veterans Experiencing Distress Related to PTSD and Moral Injury.</i> Method: Veterans who reported moral injury distress and probable PTSD were randomized into an intervention or control condition (<i>n</i> = 48). We examined repeated measures data during the trial and focused on three subscales of the Response to Positive Affect Questionnaire: rumination on positive mood and somatic experiences (emotion-focus), rumination on positive aspects of the self and pursuit of relevant goals (self-focus), and efforts to dampen positive moods (dampening). Three multilevel models were fitted with time and condition as predictors and subscale scores as outcomes. Qualitative data reported at intervention sessions was also reviewed and coded based on the three subscales.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Veterans in the MOVED condition reported more positive rumination than the control condition for both emotion-focus (<i>b</i> = 2.70, <i>p</i> = .023) and self-focus styles (<i>b</i> = 2.90, <i>p</i> = .003). There was no group difference in the dampening style. Qualitative responses after elevation-eliciting exercises and session-based goals were most frequently coded as including emotion-focused positive rumination, followed by dampening, then self-focused rumination.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>These results provide preliminary evidence that a moral elevation intervention might contribute to positive responses to positive affect in a sample predisposed to emotional numbing. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).</p>","PeriodicalId":20982,"journal":{"name":"Psychological trauma : theory, research, practice and policy","volume":" ","pages":"457-465"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142111358","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tilbe Ambrose, Kathleen J Giarratano, Matthew L McCue, Bethany L Brand, Constance J Dalenberg
{"title":"Utility of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 in differentiating genuine from feigned dissociative identity disorder.","authors":"Tilbe Ambrose, Kathleen J Giarratano, Matthew L McCue, Bethany L Brand, Constance J Dalenberg","doi":"10.1037/tra0001611","DOIUrl":"10.1037/tra0001611","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study sought to determine the utility of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) in accurately distinguishing genuine dissociative identity disorder (DID) patients from coached and uncoached DID simulators.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>DID patients (<i>n</i> = 34) who were diagnosed using the Structured Clinical Interview for <i>DSM-IV</i>-Dissociative Disorders were recruited from inpatient and outpatient settings. Coached (<i>n</i> = 25) and uncoached (<i>n</i> = 64) simulator groups were recruited from a Mid-Atlantic university. All participants completed the MMPI-2.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>MMPI-2 validity scales reliably distinguished simulators from DID patients with high sensitivity (0.95) and specificity (0.97). The scales showing greatest promise making the distinction were F minus K index, back infrequency scale, and superlative self-presentation. Simulators and genuine DID patients also differed in their pattern of symptoms. All results were calculated with White female DID patients and simulators only.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Genuine DID patients can be differentiated from simulators. Simulators appear to overweight symptoms of paranoia and alienation relative to mood and somatic symptoms. Further research is needed to generalize these findings to male and non-White populations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).</p>","PeriodicalId":20982,"journal":{"name":"Psychological trauma : theory, research, practice and policy","volume":" ","pages":"307-315"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"92156310","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Uma Balaji, Irene Tung, Candice Norcott, Kate Keenan, Alison E Hipwell
{"title":"Social connectedness and well-being among Black women who experienced adolescent sexual trauma.","authors":"Uma Balaji, Irene Tung, Candice Norcott, Kate Keenan, Alison E Hipwell","doi":"10.1037/tra0001729","DOIUrl":"10.1037/tra0001729","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Sexual violence disproportionately impacts Black girls and women in the United States. The literature documents the long-term mental health outcomes of childhood sexual trauma, but research on resilience-promoting factors for Black women survivors of such trauma is sparse. The present study tests hypotheses about the influence of Black girls' social connectedness (e.g., with mothers, peers, and racial/ethnic community) on the association between adolescent sexual trauma and early adulthood well-being.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>Participants included 850 Black girls from the Pittsburgh Girls Study. Girls reported prospectively and retrospectively on experiences of sexual trauma between ages 13 and 17. Annual assessments of social connectedness comprised reports of closeness with mother, peer social self-worth, and belonging/affirmation in racial/ethnic identity. In early adulthood (ages 18-21), participants reported on psychological flourishing.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Approximately 10% (<i>N</i> = 83) of participants reported having experienced sexual trauma during adolescence. Hierarchical linear regression analyses revealed that adolescent sexual trauma predicted lower psychological flourishing, whereas peer social self-worth and belonging in racial/ethnic identity predicted higher psychological flourishing in early adulthood. Tests of moderation revealed no significant effects of social connectedness on the association between adolescent sexual trauma and later psychological flourishing.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Findings suggest that Black women survivors of adolescent sexual trauma may experience lower psychological flourishing than those without histories of such trauma and support the importance of multiple domains of social connectedness for Black adolescent girls, in general. However, further research is needed on race- and gender-specific contextual factors that enable Black women survivors of sexual trauma to thrive. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).</p>","PeriodicalId":20982,"journal":{"name":"Psychological trauma : theory, research, practice and policy","volume":" ","pages":"249-255"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11749672/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141427438","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}