The Influences of Event Centrality in Memory Models of PTSD

Abstract

The consequences of events for well-being are influenced by individual and situational factors that are often studied in isolation. In the research reported here a large (N = 489) nonclinical sample of college students reported their most traumatic event, PTSD symptoms, depressive symptoms, personality traits, and characteristics of their event memory. This study achieved three major goals. First, we identified the highest types of stress event types in this population as disruptions of interpersonal relationships, homicides/assaults on others, and assaults/accidents involving themselves. Second, we established that the effects of memory characteristics such as vividness, belief, and impact, on PTSD symptoms are mediated by the centrality of the event to identity. Third, we affirmed the hypothesis that a structural model of the influence of personality factors on PTSD symptoms has a higher level of concurrent validity if event centrality is included as a mediator of those influences.Stressful life events, such as exposure to actual or threatened death or sexual violence, can exert a powerful and longstanding impact on a person's life. Following the event, the person may develop Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In order to be diagnosed with this disorder, the person must have encountered a severe, traumatic event (or series of events) and be currently suffering from intrusion symptoms (e.g., having involuntary intrusive memories of the trauma), avoidance symptoms (e.g., avoiding thoughts of the trauma), negative alterations in cognitions and mood (e.g., persistent negative emotional state) and increased levels of arousal (e.g., hypervigilance; American Psychiatric Association, 2013).Although PTSD is conceptually understood as a sequela of a traumatic event, the prevalence of exposure to traumatic events is much higher than the prevalence of the disorder.Several studies have found the life time prevalence of stressful events satisfying the diagnostic trauma criteria to be in the range of 55-90 percent of the general population in the United States and Europe (Breslau et al., 1998;Darves-Bornoz et al., 2008;Kessler et al., 1995), whereas the life time prevalence of PTSD in the same populations is around 10 percent (Breslau et al., 1998;Darves-Bornoz et al., 2008;Kessler et al., 1995). In other words, many people encounter traumatic events without developing PTSD symptoms that are sufficiently severe and long lasting to qualify for a PTSD diagnosis.Following the literature, the development of PTSD among people who have encountered traumatic events can be seen to depend on a complex interplay among three factors : the nature of the traumatic event, characteristics of the person in terms of predispositions and pre-trauma symptoms, and the representation of the traumatic event in memory. In the present study, we examine how these three factors work together to influence PTSD symptom outcomes. Because the present work was conducted and submitted for publication before the publication of the DSM-5 (American Psychiatr...

Rumination, event centrality, and perceived control as predictors of post‐traumatic growth and distress: The Cognitive Growth and Stress model

“…Notably, the CGAS model went further to observe the ability of centrality to mediate between types of rumination, and between intrusive rumination and PTS. This finding is supported in recent literature that views centrality as a facilitator of other cognitive processes after adversity, in part due to the increased accessibility of salient memories (Fitzgerald et al ., ; Lancaster et al ., ). Centralized events create internal, stable, and global attributions, leading the survivor to believe their adversity is related to personal characteristics (Berntsen & Rubin, ).…”

“…Notably, few studies explore how event centrality relates to other post‐event cognitions associated with PTG or PTS. For example, centrality can mediate between cognitive responses across a range of event types (Fitzgerald, Berntsen, & Broadbridge, ), by making memories of adverse events more accessible, which then prompt other cognitive processes conducive of growth, such as life‐narrative organization (Boals, ). Growth then occurs when the event is assimilated into the survivor's perspective of themselves and the world (Lancaster et al ., ).…”

Psychological and clinical correlates of the Centrality of Event Scale: A systematic review

“…Some studies also have found positive correlations between the CES and the personality trait Openness (e.g., Berntsen, Rubin, & Siegler, 2011; Ogle, Rubin, & Siegler, 2014), consistent with a general tendency for characteristics of autobiographical memory to be correlated with Openness (e.g., Rasmussen & Berntsen, 2010; Rubin & Siegler, 2004). Findings are mixed regarding the relation between the CES and the personality traits of Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Extraversion (e.g., Fitzgerald et al, 2016; Ogle et al, 2014). …”

Event centrality as a unique predictor of posttraumatic stress symptoms and perceived disability following spinal cord injury

“…Across populations, event centrality has remained a unique predictor of variance in PTSS after controlling for anxiety, depressed mood, dissociation, as well as other known predictors 13,14,20,21 . In addition to cross-sectional evidence, event centrality has been shown to predict PTSS in longitudinal and prospective studies following stressful/traumatic life events [22][23][24] .…”

“…In the psychological trauma literature, event centrality has proven to be a consistently strong predictor of PTSS [13][14]21 . In the current study, we found event centrality is not only common amongst spinal cord injury patients, it also predicts unique variance in two important psychological outcomes -PTSS and perceived disability.…”