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Absorption, Dissociation, and Posttraumatic Stress: Differential Associations Among Constructs and Symptom Clusters
R. Nicholas Carleton, Ph.D., Daniel L. Peluso, M.A., Murray P. Abrams, M.A., and Gordon J. G. Asmundson, Ph.D.
Exposure to trauma can result in attentional changes consistent with increasingly intense
rumination and re-experiencing. Patient reports of these attentional changes parallel
descriptions of the constructs of dissociation and absorption, each of which have been
independently associated with aspects of posttraumatic stress symptoms. Additional
research is needed to understand the nature of the relationship of each of dissociation
and absorption with posttraumatic stress symptoms. The current study assessed the
relationships between dissociation and absorption, using a psychometrically-supported
measure designed specifically for researching dissociative and absorbed states of attentional
allocation (Attentional Resource Allocation Scale; ARAS) and posttraumatic stress symptom
clusters. A clinical sample of people with posttraumatic stress disorder (n=30; 67% women)
and an analogue community sample of people reporting traumatic exposure (n=222; 86%
women) participated in this study. Trait dissociation, state dissociation, and absorption
were expected to differentially predict posttraumatic stress symptom clusters. In addition
to supporting the factorial validity of the ARAS, results indicated that absorption and
state, but not trait, dissociation were the primary predictors of re-experiencing, avoidance,
numbing, and hyperarousal. These results suggest that trait absorption in combination
with state dissociation during trauma may be involved in the maintenance of posttraumatic
stress symptoms. Comprehensive results, implications, limitations, and directions for future
research are discussed.
| Keywords: Absorption, dissociation, attention, posttraumatic stress, PTSD |
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