Post-trauma risk factors and resources

Psychological Stress

• Lazarus and Folkman

• Psychological stress is a particular relationship between the person and the environment that is appraised by the person as taxing or exceeding his or her resources and endangering his or her well-being

Critical Mediators

Person Environment

Cognitive Appraisals

Coping

Coping

• Efforts an individual makes to reduce their distress

• Coping can be a pre- and post-trauma risk factor

• Coping can include:– Behavioral Coping– Emotional Coping

Coping Dimensions

Coping Dimensions

Problem Focused Emotion Focused

Approach

Avoidance

Coping Dimensions

Problem Focused Emotion Focused

Approach

Avoidance

Cognitive Adaptations to Trauma

Assumptive Worlds

• Schema

• A cognitive structure that represents organized knowledge about a given concept or type of stimulus

• Assumptive World

• A stable conceptual system that affords us equilibrium in a constantly changing world

Core Assumptions: Revolve around a sense of

invulnerability

• Benevolence of the World

• Meaningfulness of the World

• Belief in Self-Worth

• “Just World Belief”

Coping Following a Traumatic Experience

• Assimilation• Rather than changing set of beliefs change the

event that happened• Accomodation• Change set of beliefs to reflect what happened• OverAccomodation• Change set of beliefs but go overboard• Characterological versus behavioral self-blame

Information Processing Model of PTSD

Traumatic Event

Why Me?

Assimilation Over-Accomodation

Violation of Just World

Social Support

• Refers to how people are treated following a traumatic event

• Studying social support is complicated because the trauma itself may affect an individual’s social support

Measurement Strategy

• Quantity

• Quality

Flannery (1990)

• Four types of helpful social support– Emotional support– Informational support– Social companionship– Instrumental support

Social Support and PTSD

• Boscarino (1995)– Vietnam vets with lower quality social support

were more likely to have current PTSD, general anxiety, depression or alcohol abuse

– Lower social support >80% of developing PTSD than those with average and >180% than those with high social support