Cross-Lagged Association Between Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Perceived Centrality of a Terrorist Attack

Glad, Kristin Alve; Czajkowski, Nikolai Olavi; Dyb, Grete; Hafstad, Gertrud Sofie

doi:10.1177/2167702619873590

Cited by 9 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…These findings add to prior evidence that elevated event-centrality is concurrently and longitudinally associated with increased event-related psychopathology following loss-events (Boelen, 2012a(Boelen, , 2017 as well as other adverse events (Blix et al, 2016;Boals & Ruggero, 2015). We did not assess loss-centrality at a later point; intriguingly, a recent study indicated that, among people exposed to terror, PTS severity prospectively predicted later event-centrality but not vice versa (Glad et al, 2020). Whether elevated PG or other psychopathology after bereavement similarly predicts later loss-centrality, needs further scrutiny.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 55%

The centrality of a loss-event: Patterns, correlates, and predictive value

Boelen

2021

Anxiety, Stress, & Coping

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Background and objectives: Evidence shows that the centrality of a lossevent maintains emotional distress following loss. Aims of the current study were to examine (i) if subgroups of bereaved people can be distinguished based on their endorsement of different manifestations of loss-centrality, (ii) if subgroup membership was associated with socio-demographic and loss-related variables, and (iii) the linkage of subgroup membership with symptom-levels of prolonged grief (PG), posttraumatic stress (PTS), and depression assessed concurrently and 6 months later. Methods: Three-hundred ninety-eight bereaved people completed the 7item Centrality of Event Scale, with their loss as anchor-event and completed symptom-measures concurrently and 6 months later. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to identity profiles of loss-centrality. Results: LPA revealed a three-profile solution representing low, average, and high centrality classes, respectively. The death of a partner and younger age increased the likelihood of membership of classes evidencing stronger centrality. Membership of the low centrality class was associated with lower concurrent PG, PTS, and depression; membership of the high centrality class predicted elevated PG 6 months later, beyond baseline PG. Conclusions: Subgroups of loss-centrality were distinguished by increasing endorsement of all (rather than some) manifestations of loss-centrality. Clinical implications are discussed.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 55%

The centrality of a loss-event: Patterns, correlates, and predictive value

Boelen

2021

Anxiety, Stress, & Coping

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“…There are several possible explanations for why we observed that PTSS predicted centrality in the present sample even though early literature suggests the opposite. One possibility raised by Glad et al (2020) is that different studies have examined the association between PTSD and event centrality during different timeframes, which can affect longitudinal findings. In addition, the current study was the first to examine this association longitudinally in the acute period following traumatic injury.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Event centrality and posttraumatic stress symptoms after traumatic injury: A longitudinal investigation

Stevens

Timmer-Murillo

Tomas

et al. 2022

Journal of Traumatic Stress

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The development of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) can occur following a traumatic injury, which may include an increase in negative cognitions. One cognitive construct shown to be associated with the development of PTSS is event centrality, or the degree to which an individual views a traumatic experience as central to their life story. Although cross‐sectional work has demonstrated a robust connection between event centrality and PTSS, the directionality of this association remains unclear. Most previous work has investigated centrality as a predictor of PTSS, although one recent study suggests that PTSS may, in fact, predict event centrality. The current longitudinal study enrolled adult civilian participants (N = 191) from a Level 1 trauma center following a traumatic injury and assessed both event centrality and PTSS at three points posttrauma (3, 12, and 18 months). A time‐constrained random intercept cross‐lagged panel analysis showed that PTSS predicted event centrality over the 18‐month follow‐up period, B = 0.16, p = .021, but event centrality did not predict PTSS, B = ‐0.27, p = .340. These findings suggest that the development of PTSS following trauma exposure may lead to the perception of the traumatic event as central to an individual's story over time. Further longitudinal research is necessary to determine what variables may influence the connection between PTSS and event centrality.

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“…During the massacre, the survivors experienced high levels of trauma exposure, including life threat, witnessing people being injured or killed, hearing people scream in pain and fear, the intense and persistent sound of gun shots, and the loss of someone close (Glad, Jensen, Hafstad, & Dyb, 2016 ). The survivors have reported high levels of peritraumatic reactions (Dyb et al, 2014 ), and high levels of event centrality (Glad, Czajkowski, Dyb, & Hafstad, 2019 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does event centrality mediate the effect of peritraumatic reactions on post-traumatic growth in survivors of a terrorist attack?

Glad

Czajkowski

Dyb

et al. 2020

European Journal of Psychotraumatology

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Background: While self-reported post-traumatic growth (PTG) has been documented after a wide variety of potentially traumatic experiences, we need more knowledge on the mechanisms behind PTG to gain a better understanding of this phenomenon. Objective: We aimed to investigate the hypothesized mechanism of perceived event centrality as a mediator on the pathway between peritraumatic reactions and later PTG. Method: In total, 204 survivors of the 2011 massacre on Utøya island, participated 4-5 months (T1), 14-15 months (T2), and 30-32 months (T3) post-terror. We applied counterfactually based causal mediation analysis to explore the potential mediating role of survivors' perceived centrality (T2) in linking their peritraumatic reactions (T1) and selfreported PTG (T3). Results: The vast majority of the survivors reported experiencing some positive changes post-terror, and we found a positive, significant association between survivor's peritraumatic reactions, perceived event centrality and self-reported growth. However, we did not find that centrality significantly mediated the longitudinal association between peritraumatic reactions and later PTG. Conclusion: Reports of PTG are common post-terror, and peritraumatic reactions and perceptions of centrality may help explain individual differences in trauma survivors' level of PTG. Perceived event centrality about one year post-trauma does not appear to explain the relationship between initial reactions to trauma and subsequent PTG.

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Cross-Lagged Association Between Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Perceived Centrality of a Terrorist Attack

Cited by 9 publications

References 37 publications

The centrality of a loss-event: Patterns, correlates, and predictive value

The centrality of a loss-event: Patterns, correlates, and predictive value

Event centrality and posttraumatic stress symptoms after traumatic injury: A longitudinal investigation

Does event centrality mediate the effect of peritraumatic reactions on post-traumatic growth in survivors of a terrorist attack?

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