Parlar Melissa, Frewen Paul, Nazarov Anthony, Oremus Carolina, MacQueen Glenda, Lanius Ruth, McKinnon Margaret C
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, McMaster University Hamilton, Ontario, Canada ; Mood Disorders Program, St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Department of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada.
Brain Behav. 2014 May;4(3):381-9. doi: 10.1002/brb3.215. Epub 2014 Mar 13.
Although studies increasingly point toward problems with social cognition among individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), few studies have assessed empathic responding. The aim of the current study was to investigate empathic responding in women with PTSD related to childhood trauma, and the contribution of parental bonding to empathic abilities in this sample.
Participants with PTSD (n = 29) and sex- and age-matched healthy controls (n = 20) completed two self-report empathy measures, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ), and a self-report measure of attachment, the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI).
Women with PTSD, relative to controls, reported significantly lower levels of empathic concern (r = 0.29) and perspective taking (r = 0.30), yet significantly higher levels of personal distress (r = 0.45) on the IRI. Women with PTSD also reported elevated scores on the TEQ (η (2) = 0.13). Levels of paternal care on the PBI, rather than childhood trauma severity or PTSD symptom severity best predicted perspective taking scores on the IRI in the PTSD sample (R (2) = 0.20).
Women with PTSD associated with childhood trauma reported alterations among different domains of empathic functioning that may be related to low levels of paternal care.
尽管越来越多的研究指出创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）患者存在社会认知问题，但很少有研究评估共情反应。本研究的目的是调查与童年创伤相关的PTSD女性的共情反应，以及在该样本中父母依恋对共情能力的影响。
PTSD患者（n = 29）以及性别和年龄匹配的健康对照者（n = 20）完成了两项自我报告的共情测量，人际反应指数（IRI）和多伦多共情问卷（TEQ），以及一项依恋的自我报告测量，父母依恋量表（PBI）。
与对照组相比，PTSD女性在IRI上报告的共情关注水平（r = 0.29）和观点采择水平（r = 0.30）显著更低，但个人痛苦水平显著更高（r = 0.45）。PTSD女性在TEQ上的得分也更高（η(2)= 0.13）。在PTSD样本中，PBI上的父亲关怀水平，而非童年创伤严重程度或PTSD症状严重程度，最能预测IRI上的观点采择得分（R(2)= 0.20）。
与童年创伤相关的PTSD女性报告了共情功能不同领域的改变，这可能与父亲关怀水平低有关。
