Anxiety buffer disruption theory: a terror management account of posttraumatic stress disorder

Abstract

We present anxiety buffer disruption theory (ABDT) and provide a review of current evidence regarding the theory. ABDT is an application of terror management theory to explain diverse reactions to traumatic events and the onset and maintenance of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It posits that PTSD results from a disruption in one's anxiety-buffering mechanisms, which normally provide protection against anxiety in general and death anxiety in particular. The disruption of these mechanisms leaves the individual defenseless in the face of overwhelming anxiety, which leads to the major symptom clusters of PTSD: re-experiencing, hyper-arousal, and avoidance. According to ABDT, because of the disruption in their anxiety-buffering mechanisms, individuals with PTSD symptoms do not respond to mortality reminders in the defensive ways that psychologically healthier individuals do. We review four sets of studies conducted in four different cultures and with people who have experienced different types of trauma, which reveal this atypical response pattern and lend support to ABDT.

Threat and Defense

“…Prolonged BIS activation can have deleterious effects for these individuals, such as decreased life satisfaction, vitality, and perceived meaning, as well as increased negative affect, state anxiety, and social avoidance (Routledge et al, 2010). Persistence in the BIS phase of proximal defenses after threat may undermine the pursuit of everyday goals ; see also Pyszczynski & Kesebir, 2011). Accordingly, most people do not react with persistent anxious arousal or behavioral inhibition following threat cues.…”

The Influence of God Consciousness and Religiosity in Coping with Anxiety at Workplace among Malaysian Muslim Professionals

“…Psychologically anxious person would feel constant worries, feeling upset and fearful without any real reason to the extent of staring blankly, crying or losing their self-esteem [5]. Person afflicted with anxiety and other related mental health problem may exhibit decreased perception of their own self-worth [11]. This can lead to another serious psychological disturbance which is depression [12].…”

Death Anxiety Resilience; a Mixed Methods Investigation

“…Anxiety buffer disruption theory is useful in helping to understand the connection of death anxiety to PTSD, while at the same time demonstrating a fairly stable well-being [26]. Death anxiety is an inherently human condition of which we are aware at varying levels of Death Anxiety Resilience 25 our own mortality.…”

“…However, exposure to trauma could disrupt such defence mechanisms and exacerbate death anxiety. In parallel, the disruption of defence mechanisms might also exacerbate trauma-related emotional distress, leading to the emergence of PTSD symptoms [26].…”