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Attachment, Social Cognition, and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms in a Traumatized, Urban Population: Evidence for the Mediating Role of Object Relations
Author(s) -
Ortigo Kile M.,
Westen Drew,
DeFife Jared A.,
Bradley Bekh
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1002/jts.21815
Subject(s) - psychology , object relations theory , developmental psychology , attachment theory , construct (python library) , clinical psychology , cognition , object (grammar) , population , psychiatry , psychotherapist , psychoanalytic theory , medicine , linguistics , philosophy , environmental health , computer science , programming language
Research has linked multiple risk and resiliency factors to developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). One potentially important construct for understanding connections between trauma and PTSD is attachment. Although relationships between attachment and risk for PTSD have been described theoretically, limited research has addressed these relationships empirically. Furthermore, aspects of object relations overlap with attachment and PTSD, but have not been adequately incorporated in empirical research. One proposed pathway between attachment and PTSD involves the mediating role of object relations, particularly views of self and others. Present data were from a larger study investigating environmental and genetic risk factors for PTSD in an impoverished, primarily African American sample seeking care at a public urban hospital. Correlations indicated that adult attachment (with the exception of dismissing) and object relations relate to childhood traumas, (| r |s = .19–.29), adult traumas (| r |s = .14–.20), and self‐reported PTSD symptoms (| r |s = .20–.36). Analyses also found support for mediational roles of object relations in relationships between attachment and PTSD symptoms (Model R 2 range = .136–.160). These data have theoretical, clinical, and research implications for understanding how particular aspects of attachment, specifically its effects on object relations, may protect against or predispose one to develop PTSD.