Posttraumatic Appraisals Mediate the Relationship Between Childhood Psychological Abuse and Complex PTSD Symptom Severity

Previous research established a connection between childhood psychological abuse (CPA), a common but understudied form of child maltreatment, and symptoms of posttraumatic stress. However, the connection between CPA and complex PTSD remains underexplored. This study investigated the relationship between CPA, posttraumatic appraisals (i.e., fear, alienation, betrayal, self-blame, anger, and shame), and complex PTSD symptoms among a sample of 263 college students using structural equation modeling. The model uncovered significant direct and indirect effects, demonstrating a significant association between CPA and posttraumatic appraisals. Further, posttraumatic appraisals were significantly associated with complex PTSD symptoms. The indirect effect of CPA on complex PTSD symptoms via posttraumatic appraisals was significant, confirming the mediating role of posttraumatic appraisals between CPA and complex PTSD symptoms. The model demonstrated substantial explanatory power, explaining 51.9% of the variance in posttraumatic appraisals and 94.7% of the variance in complex PTSD symptoms. Implications for counselors are discussed