Trauma-Related Altered States of Consciousness (TRASC) and Functional Impairment II: Perceived Causal Relationships in an Online Sample

Abstract

Research supports the existence of a dissociative subtype of posttraumatic stress disorder, although studies have not directly compared the perceived impact of dissociative versus nondissociative posttraumatic symptoms on social and occupational functioning. In addition, research is beginning to differentiate between posttraumatic distress associated with normal waking consciousness (NWC) and dissociative experiences of trauma-related altered states of consciousness (TRASC) along multiple phenomenological dimensions. The current study investigated perceived causal relationships between posttraumatic symptoms associated with NWC-distress and TRASC on the one hand and interpersonal and occupational functioning on the other. Although both TRASC and NWC-distress independently accounted for variance in self-reported interpersonal and occupational problems, perceived causal relationship results showed that individuals tended to attribute their social and work-related problems more strongly to NWC-distress than to TRASC. Future research directions are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• dissociation
• posttraumatic stress disorder
• trauma-related altered states of consciousness
• childhood abuse and neglect
• 4-D model

Notes

1. In other words, if a person endorsed all 48 symptoms administered in the present study, surveying the entire network of possible PCR would have resulted in 48 × 47 = 2,256 PCR follow-up questions. However, the present study only administered PCR questions involving the two social and occupational impairment items. This resulted in a maximum of 2 × 47 = 94 PCR follow-up questions being administered.