Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, USA.
National Louis University, Chicago, IL, USA.
J Interpers Violence. 2020 Sep;35(17-18):3601-3621. doi: 10.1177/0886260517710483. Epub 2017 May 29.
Experiencing repeated trauma can have increasingly detrimental effects on psychosocial functioning after subsequent stressors. These effects may be intensified for victims of interpersonal traumas given that these events are often associated with heightened risk for adverse outcomes. To better understand this relationship, the present study prospectively examined the effect of pre-shooting trauma exposure (i.e., interpersonal vs. non-interpersonal trauma) on psychological functioning (i.e., posttraumatic stress symptoms, depression) following a mass campus shooting. Based on previous research, it was expected that negative appraisals and social support would mediate this relationship. A sample of 515 college women reporting prior trauma exposure was assessed at four time points following the shooting (i.e., pre-shooting, 1-month, 6-months, and 12-months post-shooting). Bootstrap analyses with bias-corrected confidence intervals were conducted. Contrary to expectation, pre-shooting trauma exposure was unrelated to 12-month post-shooting outcomes and neither negative appraisals nor social support at 6-months post-shooting emerged as mediators. Interestingly, a history of non-interpersonal trauma was associated with greater post-shooting family and friend support than a history of interpersonal trauma. Ad hoc analyses showed that pre-shooting symptom severity and level of exposure to the shooting had indirect effects on post-shooting outcomes via post-shooting negative appraisals. These findings support that cumulative trauma, regardless of type, may not have an additive effect unless individuals develop clinically significant symptoms following previous trauma. Trauma severity also appears to play a meaningful role.
经历反复创伤后，个体在遭遇后续压力源时，其心理社会功能可能会受到日益严重的负面影响。对于人际创伤的受害者来说，这些影响可能更为严重，因为这些事件通常与不良后果的风险增加有关。为了更好地理解这种关系，本研究前瞻性地考察了射击前创伤暴露（即人际与非人际创伤）对大规模校园枪击事件后心理功能（即创伤后应激症状、抑郁）的影响。基于先前的研究，预计消极评价和社会支持会对此关系起到中介作用。在枪击事件发生后，对 515 名报告有先前创伤暴露的女大学生进行了 4 次评估（即枪击前、1 个月、6 个月和 12 个月）。采用带有偏置校正置信区间的自举分析进行分析。与预期相反，射击前的创伤暴露与 12 个月后的射击后结果无关，而 6 个月后的消极评价和社会支持也没有成为中介。有趣的是，非人际创伤史与枪击后家庭和朋友支持的增加有关，而人际创伤史则没有。特别分析显示，射击前的症状严重程度和对枪击事件的暴露程度通过射击后的消极评价对射击后的结果有间接影响。这些发现支持了累积创伤（无论类型如何）可能不会产生累加效应，除非个体在经历先前创伤后出现临床显著的症状。创伤严重程度似乎也起着重要作用。
