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Relationship between trauma narratives and trauma pathology
Author(s) -
Amir Nader,
Stafford Jane,
Freshman Melinda S.,
Foa Edna B.
Publication year - 1998
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 - 10.1023/a:1024415523495
Subject(s) - articulation (sociology) , narrative , operationalization , psychology , reading (process) , anxiety , psychological trauma , anxiety disorder , clinical psychology , posttraumatic stress , psychiatry , linguistics , philosophy , epistemology , politics , political science , law
In this study we examined the relationship between posttrauma pathology and the level of articulation (complexity) in rape narratives recounted by victims shortly after the assault. Degree of articulation was operationalized as the reading level of the narratives as determined by a computer program. Shortly after the trauma, reading level was correlated with severity of anxiety but not with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Degree of the narrative articulation shortly after the trauma, however, was related to severity of later PTSD. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the less developed trauma narratives hinder recovery from trauma.