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Main and Interactive Effects of Mental Contamination and Tolerance of Negative Emotions in Relation to Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms Following Sexual Trauma

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Abstract

Mental contamination, an internal sense of dirtiness that originates in the absence of physical contact with a stimulus, has been implicated in the exacerbation of posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms following sexual trauma. In addition, evidence suggests that associations between PTS-related risk factors and PTS symptoms may depend on the degree to which one can tolerate experiencing negative emotions. To better understand the association between mental contamination and PTS symptoms, we examined main and interactive effects of mental contamination and tolerance of negative emotions in relation to PTS symptoms, including specific symptom clusters, in a community sample of women who experienced sexual trauma (N = 101). Tolerance of negative emotions moderated the association between mental contamination and PTS symptoms (total symptom severity, intrusion cluster, and cognitive/mood alterations cluster). These results indicate that difficulties tolerating negative emotions may be a necessary condition for mental contamination to relate to PTS symptoms following sexual trauma.

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Conflicts of Interest

Thomas A. Fergus and Joseph R. Bardeen declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Experiment Participants

The protocol for this study was approved by the Office of Research Compliance at Auburn University. All participants provided electronic consent as part of their study participation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Baylor University, Waco, TX, 76798, USA

    Thomas A. Fergus

  2. Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA

    Joseph R. Bardeen

Authors
  1. Thomas A. Fergus
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  2. Joseph R. Bardeen
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Correspondence to Thomas A. Fergus.

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Fergus, T.A., Bardeen, J.R. Main and Interactive Effects of Mental Contamination and Tolerance of Negative Emotions in Relation to Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms Following Sexual Trauma. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 38, 274–283 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-015-9511-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-015-9511-0

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