1. Gabrial Anderson, Marissa Lim, & Andrew J. Smith
Psychology Department, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
INTRODUCTION
Direct correspondence to Andrew J. Smith at ajsmith1@vt.edu
Social-Cognitive-Affective Factors Predicting Post-Assault Posttraumatic Stress:
The Roles of Insecure Attachment, Negative Worldview, and Coping Self-Efficacy
Participants & Procedure
- Students enrolled at Virignia Tech (N = 73)
- Endorsed physical or sexual assault in past 5 years
- Age: Mdn = 19, M = 19.82, SD = 2.16, Range = 18 - 33
- Gender: Female (n = 52), Male (n = 21)
- Racial distribution: 70% White; 12% Asian; 10% Hispanic; 4%
Black; 4% Other
- Self-report questionnaires administered online
Measures
- PTS Symptom Severity: PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version (17
items, α=.92)
- Coping Self-Efficacy: Trauma Coping Self-Efficacy Scale (9
items; α= .79)
- Attachment: insecure anxious attachment subscale from the
Experiences in Close Relationships Scale, insecure (7 items;
α= .76)
- Negative Posttraumatic Cognitions: Posttraumatic Cognitions
Inventory, World Subscale (7 items; α= .79)
Presented at the 15th Annual William and Mary Graduate Research Symposium, 2016
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
Analytical Strategy
- Path Analysis via MPLUS & SPSS
- Goodness of fit using two-index analysis for small sample (e.g.,
SRMR, CFI, TLI, Chi-squared)
- Indirect effects tested via bootstrapping (Hayes & Preacher, 2013)
methodology producing confidence intervals through 5,000 repeated
random sample tests
RESULTS CONT.
PTS = posttraumatic stress (range = 18 to 72); coping self-efficacy (range = 26 to 63); PTCI-W =
posttraumatic cognitions, world subscale (range = 1 to 7 [continuous score, M = 24.54, SD = 8.22, range =
6 to 38]); Anx Attachment = insecure anxious attachment subscale from Experiences in Close
Relationships scale (range = 6 to 38); gender (0 = male, 1 = female)
* p < .05; ** p < .001
PTS = posttraumatic stress; CSE = coping self-efficacy; PTCI-W = posttraumatic cognitions, world subscale;
Anx Attachment = insecure anxious attachment subscale from Experiences in Close Relationships scale.
Unstandardized path coefficients (i.e., B) reported throughout this table and in results section.
*= significant via confidence interval that does not cross 0; a = covariate control variable
METHODOLOGY
Exposure to interpersonal violence increases the risk for developing
posttraumatic stress disorder. Theory and research suggests that problems
with emotion regulation link trauma exposure and the development of PTSD.
Theory and evidence further suggest that adaptive emotional regulatory
capacity develops through early secure attachment experiences via
interpersonal relationships.
Theory and evidence further suggest that adaptive emotion regulatory
capacity develops through early experiences and secure attachment with
caregivers. Conversely, insecure attachments form the foundation for emotion
regulation problems in adulthood, perpetuating more severe PTS symptoms
in the wake of traumatic events. However, mechanisms that link attachment-
related vulnerabilities to posttraumatic mental health remain unclear.
The current study sought to examine whether two prominent social-cognitive-
affective mechanisms of posttraumatic adaptation serve to link attachment-
based vulnerability to PTS symptoms among adults exposed to interpersonal
assault (sexual or physical). Specifically, we hypothesized that insecure
anxious attachment would predict worse PTS symptoms through increasing
severity of negative worldview and reducing adaptive coping self-efficacy
appraisals.
- Consistent with research: Insecure attachment makes one vulnerable to
worse PTS symptoms in the wake of interpersonal trauma
- Novel findings: Anxious insecure attachment predicts PTS only through
proposed mechanisms (although limited by cross-sectional design)
More severe anxious insecure attachment predicts more severe negative
worldview
More severe anxious insecure attachment predicts lower CSE
More severe negative worldview predicts lower CSE
- Implications:
 Interventions: Targeting CSE and negative/inflexible worldview
 Future research: Longitudinal with diverse samples to test this model
- Limitations: Cross-sectional, small sample, self-report measures
Mental health functioning of the sample
Mean PTS score (M = 38.45, SD = 14.37) indicates that the current sample is, on
average, experiences clinically significant PTS symptoms. Scores on the
Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory-World Subscale (M = 3.51, SD = 1.17
[continuous M = 24.54, SD = 8.22]) indicates that our sample maintains negative
cognitions about the world in a manner consistent with trauma-exposed samples.
Visual Depiction of the Path Model & Findings