Childhood Cumulative Trauma and Depressive Symptoms in Adulthood: the Role of Mindfulness and Dissociation

Bolduc, Roxanne; Bigras, Noémie; Daspe, Marie‐Ève; Hébert, Martine; Godbout, Natacha

doi:10.1007/s12671-018-0906-3

Cited by 36 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 52 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…A higher score indicated more exposure to several forms of trauma. The internal consistency of the measure was high in previous studies Bolduc et al, 2018) as well as in the current study (a ¼ .90).…”

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 69%

“…Participants indicated the frequency with which they had experienced each statement in the last 7 days. This questionnaire is widely used and has shown adequate levels of internal consistency in previous studies (Bolduc et al, 2018;Godbout, Dutton, Lussier, & Sabourin, 2009) as well as in the current study (a ¼ .92).…”

Section: Psychological Distressmentioning

confidence: 58%

“…Therefore, CCT may lead to more psychological distress and, in turn, to lower levels of dispositional mindfulness, which might be related to lower sexual satisfaction. On the one hand, CCT and related symptoms (i.e., flashbacks, intrusive thoughts, painful thoughts) tend to narrow victims' behavioral repertoire or to increase psychological rigidity or distress, hampering their disposition to be mindful or present (Bolduc et al, 2018;Follette & Pistorello, 2007) and potentially leading to diminished sexual satisfaction. On the other hand, a substantial body of empirical data linked lower dispositional mindfulness to psychological distress (Deng, Li, & Tang, 2014;Mayer, Polak, & Remmerswaal, 2019).…”

Section: Mindfulnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…of the link between CCT and lower sexual satisfaction. Last, psychological distress (i.e., depression, anxiety, irritability, cognitive impairments) may encourage the use of avoidance strategies to escape from suffering or unpleasant psychological states, which may in turn diminish attentiveness and awareness of what is taking place in the present moment (Bolduc, Bigras, Daspe, H ebert, & Godbout, 2018;Briere, 2015;Godbout, Bigras, & Dion, 2016;Masuda & Tully, 2012).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Childhood Interpersonal Trauma and Sexual Satisfaction in Patients Seeing Sex Therapy: Examining Mindfulness and Psychological Distress as Mediators

Godbout

Bakhos

Dussault

et al. 2019

Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mindful attention and awareness may promote sexual satisfaction. However, experiencing cumulative childhood interpersonal trauma (CCT; sexual abuse, neglect, etc.) is associated with distress, which might interfere with dispositional mindfulness and lead to lower sexual satisfaction. Although the concept of mindfulness emerged as an interesting variable to understand sexual difficulties, little empirical data are available on this topic. This study tested an integrative mediation model of the relation between CCT, psychological distress, dispositional mindfulness, and sexual satisfaction within a clinical sample of 410 adult patients consulting in sex therapy. Patients completed questionnaires assessing CCT, psychological distress, dispositional mindfulness, and sexual satisfaction. Results showed that the majority of patients reported experiences of childhood interpersonal trauma. Path analyses highlighted three distinct significant paths from CCT to sexual satisfaction. First, dispositional mindfulness mediated the relationship between CCT and sexual satisfaction. Second, psychological distress also mediated the relationship between CCT and sexual satisfaction. Third, the effect of CCT on sexual satisfaction was sequentially mediated through greater levels of psychological distress and lower levels of dispositional mindfulness. The model explained 19% of the variance in sexual satisfaction. Findings suggest that dispositional mindfulness and psychological distress are key processes explaining sexual satisfaction in CCT survivors.

show abstract

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 69%

Section: Psychological Distressmentioning

confidence: 58%

Section: Mindfulnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Childhood Interpersonal Trauma and Sexual Satisfaction in Patients Seeing Sex Therapy: Examining Mindfulness and Psychological Distress as Mediators

Godbout

Bakhos

Dussault

et al. 2019

Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This entrapping cycle of avoidance and suffering has been presented as a pain paradox (Briere 2015) or behavioral loop (Hayes & Gifford 1997) and offers a theoretical ground to the potential role of mindfulness in the link uniting both CCT and couple satisfaction. Recent studies supported this theoretical standpoint by revealing a link between CCT and lower dispositional mindfulness and between lower dispositional mindfulness and increased psychological distress and psychosocial impairment (Bolduc et al 2018;Kratzer et al 2018;Nitzan-Assayag et al 2015). In his literature review, Kozlowski (2013) highlighted a large body of empirical studies showing direct and indirect associations between dispositional mindfulness and couple satisfaction.…”

mentioning

confidence: 94%

Cumulative Childhood Trauma and Couple Satisfaction: Examining the Mediating Role of Mindfulness

et al. 2020

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objectives Cumulative childhood trauma (CCT) survivors are at a higher risk of suffering from interpersonal problems including couple dissatisfaction. Dispositional mindfulness is increasingly proposed as a potential explanatory mechanism of posttraumatic symptomatology and has been documented as a predictor of couple satisfaction. Most authors operationalize mindfulness as a multidimensional disposition comprised of five facets (i.e., Describing, Observing, Non-judgment of inner experiences, Non-reactivity, and Acting with awareness), but the role of these facets in the link between CCT and couple satisfaction has yet to be understood. This study aimed to assess mindfulness as a potential mediator in the relationship between CCT and couple satisfaction and to examine the distinctive contributions of mindfulness facets in this mediation. Methods A sample of 330 participants from the community completed measures of couple satisfaction, mindfulness, and exposure to eight types of childhood maltreatment experiences. Results Path analysis results revealed that mindfulness mediated the relationship between CCT and couple satisfaction. More precisely, two mindfulness facets acted as specific mediators, namely, Describing and Non-judgment of inner experiences. The final integrative model explained 14% (p < .001) of the variance in couple satisfaction. Conclusions Findings suggest that mindfulness may be a meaningful mechanism in the link between CCT and couple satisfaction. They also highlight that description of inner experiences and a non-judgmental attitude of these experiences may act as key components to understand the influence of CCT on adults' lower couple satisfaction.

show abstract

Disorganized attachment, mentalization and dissociation in context of childhood trauma: Implications for depressive symptoms

2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Extensive evidence indicates that adults with experience of childhood trauma and disorganised attachment are at a higher risk of suffering from depressive symptoms, while at the same time dissociation and mentalisation are very important risk and protective factors in this relation. Although mentalisation and dissociation are mentioned as potential mediators of this relationship, very few studies have analysed the mutual relations between these variables. Bearing in mind the importance of creating more specific and effective ways for dealing with depression, especially within vulnerable groups such as the traumatised, the aim of this research is to examine a serial mediation model in which disorganisation is modelled as effecting a decrease in mentalisation, in turn lead to dissociation, thereby resulting in depressive symptoms. Adult respondents (N = 153) with a history of interpersonal childhood trauma were selected from a larger geographical cluster sample from the general population of Serbia. The respondents filled in a battery of instruments, including The Childhood Traumatic Events Scale, Relationship Questionnaire -CV, Patient Health Questionnaire, Short Scale for the Assessment of Stress-Related Dissociation Symptomatology and the Mentalisation Scale. Our findings suggest that disorganisation has an effect on depression by leading to a decrease in the ability to mentalise, which further triggers dissociation, resulting in depressive symptoms as a final consequence (estimated indirect effect = 0.014, 95 percent CI = 0.005 to 0.026). Additionally, the specific indirect effect involving dissociation as the sole mediator was also significant (estimated indirect effect = 0.058, 95 percent CI = 0.030 to 0.091). Targeting dissociative symptoms in the treatment in patients struggling with depression aftermath of traumatic experience could gain a great benefit for recognition and selection of more adequate treatment strategies.

show abstract

Childhood Cumulative Trauma and Depressive Symptoms in Adulthood: the Role of Mindfulness and Dissociation

Cited by 36 publications

References 52 publications

Childhood Interpersonal Trauma and Sexual Satisfaction in Patients Seeing Sex Therapy: Examining Mindfulness and Psychological Distress as Mediators

Childhood Interpersonal Trauma and Sexual Satisfaction in Patients Seeing Sex Therapy: Examining Mindfulness and Psychological Distress as Mediators

Cumulative Childhood Trauma and Couple Satisfaction: Examining the Mediating Role of Mindfulness

Disorganized attachment, mentalization and dissociation in context of childhood trauma: Implications for depressive symptoms

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About