Research with survivors of torture has generated considerable variability in prevalence rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Multiple risk and resilience factors may affect this variability, increasing or decreasing the likelihood of experiencing psychological distress. This study sought to investigate the effect of several such resilience factors, coping style, social support, cognitive appraisals, and social comparisons on PTSD symptom severity. Furthermore, this study examined whether coping style moderated the relationship between resilience variables and PTSD symptoms. Seventy-five torture survivors completed an intake interview and several self-report measures upon entry into a treatment program for survivors of torture. Results indicated that emotion-focused coping styles significantly moderated the relationship between cognitive appraisal and social comparison variables and PTSD, and usually increased the likelihood of developing severe symptoms. These results indicate that the salience of resilience variables may differ depending on the individual's coping style, which present implications for clinical practice with torture survivors.

Few research studies have systematically categorized the types of torture experienced around the world. The purpose of this study is to categorize the diverse traumatic events that are defined as torture, and determine how these torture types relate to demographics and symptom presentation. Data for 325 individuals were obtained through a retrospective review of records from the Bellevue/NYU for Survivors of Torture. A factor analysis generated a model with five factors corresponding to witnessing torture of others, torture of family members, physical beating, rape/sexual assault, and deprivation/passive torture. These factors were significantly correlated with a number of demographic variables (sex, education, and region of origin). Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, anxiety, and depression symptoms were significantly correlated with the rape factor but no other factors were uniquely associated with psychological distress. The results offer insight into the nature of torture and differences in responses.