Attributions for Different Types of Traumatic Events and Post-Traumatic Stress Among Women

• Published in: Journal of aggression, maltreatment & trauma Vol. 18; no. 5; pp. 499 - 515
• Main Authors: Zinzow, Heidi M., Jackson, Joan L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Binghamton, NY Taylor & Francis Group 01-07-2009; Haworth Press
• Subjects: accident; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Anxiety disorders. Neuroses; Biological and medical sciences; Child Abuse; cognition; crime; domestic violence; Family Violence; Females; interpersonal violence; Medical sciences; mental health; natural disaster; Natural Disasters; Post-traumatic stress disorder; post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); Posttraumatic Stress Disorder; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; sexual assault; Trauma; Victimology; Social environment; mental health; Anxiety disorder; Posttraumatic stress disorder; Victimology; accident; natural disaster; Intimate partner violence; Female; Sexual abuse; crime; post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); Woman; Human; child abuse; cognition; sexual assault; Trauma; Attribution; Stress; Social cognition; Life events; Social interaction; interpersonal violence; domestic violence; Interpersonal relation
• ISSN: 1092-6771; 1545-083X
• DOI: 10.1080/10926770903051025

This study investigated the relationship of attributions to post-traumatic stress symptoms among women exposed to different types of traumatic events. Participants were 424 female undergraduates who previously experienced a serious accident, natural disaster, child abuse, or adult interpersonal violence. Path analysis indicated a significant indirect pathway from event type to post-traumatic stress through global attributions. Interpersonal-violence survivors exhibited the highest levels of global attributions and post-traumatic stress symptoms. Regression analyses revealed significant interactions between event type and attributions in predicting post-traumatic stress. Stable attributions were associated with increased symptoms in sexual-assault survivors and decreased symptoms in natural-disaster survivors. These findings have implications for improving cognitive interventions for survivors of different types of traumatic events.