Elsevier

Journal of Affective Disorders

Volume 238, 1 October 2018, Pages 88-93
Journal of Affective Disorders

Research paper
Negative posttraumatic cognitions among military sexual trauma survivors

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2018.05.024Get rights and content
Under a Creative Commons license
open access

Highlights

  • Military sexual trauma predicts specific negative cognitions in veterans with PTSD.

  • Specific cognitions were focused on self-blame.

  • Findings held after accounting for current psychopathology.

  • These beliefs may be key treatment targets for military sexual trauma survivors.

Abstract

Background

Unique aspects of military sexual trauma (MST) may result in specific maladaptive cognitions among survivors. Understanding which posttraumatic cognitions are particularly strong among MST survivors could help clinicians target and improve treatment for these individuals. This study explored the impact of experiencing MST on posttraumatic cognitions among veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Methods

Veterans enrolled in an Intensive Outpatient Program for PTSD (N = 226) were assessed for MST, PTSD severity, depression severity, and posttraumatic cognitions as part of a standard clinical intake. Multivariate analyses examined differences in posttraumatic cognitions between veterans who did and did not experience MST.

Results

MST survivors (n = 88) endorsed significantly stronger posttraumatic cognitions related to self-blame compared to non-MST counterparts (n = 138), even when accounting for current symptom severity. Specifically, MST predicted the following cognitions: “The event happened to me because of the sort of person I am,” “Somebody else would have stopped the event from happening,” “Somebody else would not have gotten into this situation,” and “There is something about me that made the event happen,” after controlling for severity of PTSD and depression.

Limitations

Study population was a treatment-seeking sample of veterans diagnosed with PTSD from a non-VA clinic. Veterans in MST group endorsed either sexual harassment, sexual assault, or both. Sample size of males who endorsed MST (n = 21) may be too small to generalize to all males.

Conclusions

Beliefs related to self-blame may be important treatment targets for MST survivors.

Keywords

Military sexual trauma
Veterans
Posttraumatic stress disorder
Cognitions
Depression

Cited by (0)