Cognitions in Non Life-Threatening Traumatic Events

Abstract

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating condition associated with

diffuse impairment and distress. The onset of PTSD requires a traumatic stressor, an

event in which an individual experienced or was confronted with death, serious injury, or

threat to bodily integrity. An emerging research literature has demonstrated that some

stressors, while not necessarily life-threatening (e.g., divorce), may provoke intense

posttraumatic stress reactions and hallmark PTSD symptoms (e.g., flashbacks, sleep

disturbance, emotional numbing; Carleton, Peluso, Collimore, & Asmundson, 2011).

Associations between experiencing PTSD-like symptoms in response to non lifethreatening

stressors have been documented; however, this area remains both

controversial and relatively understudied. The purpose of the current study was to

contribute to this emerging area of inquiry by exploring characteristic cognitions in non

life-threatening trauma. Given that posttrauma cognitions have been implicated in the

development and maintenance of PTSD, this study sought to determine the dimensions

along which cognitions in non life-threatening traumatic events are organized. Individuals

exposed to trauma, both life-threatening and non life-threatening, were recruited for this

study. Both quantitative and qualitative methods of inquiry were used to elucidate the

research question, each carried out in two separate phases. The quantitative analyses were

largely descriptive in nature, providing data on the nature and severity of posttrauma

cognitions and symptoms. Planned t-tests and analyses of variance indicated that

individuals meeting criteria for PTSD caseness in response to non life-threatening events

(n = 53) did not differ in the severity or content of posttrauma cognitions as compared to

those with PTSD caseness from life-threatening trauma (n = 75). Subsequent to the quantitative phase, six participants endorsing a non life-threatening event as the worst

event ever experienced completed a qualitative interview in order to obtain rich

descriptions of posttrauma cognitions. Grounded theory analyses revealed the presence of

five themes: trust, low self-worth, needing to find meaning, perceptions of social

interactions, and thoughts about traumatic recurrence. Together, the current data suggest

that life-threatening trauma and non life-threatening distressing life events can produce

very similar types and severity of cognitions. Comprehensive results, theoretical

implications of trauma, and future research directions are discussed.