Search for a curvilinear relationship between the sense of coherence and the intensity of PTSD in MVA survivors

Abstract

The relationship between the sense of coherence (SOC) and the intensity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was examined in order to determine its nature and to resolve the inconsistencies between (1) a growing body of empirical research that indicates a linear relationship between these variables, and (2) the schema-based theories of PTSD that suggest a curvilinear relationship between cognitions and the intensity of PTSD. In this cross-sectional study an attempt was also made to identify some psychological factors that moderate this relationship. Participants were a sample of 1132 motor vehicle accident (MVA) survivors. The results showed that gender and temperamental predisposition to PTSD constituted moderator variables of the relationship between SOC and the intensity of PTSD. This supported both the empirical evidence on the linear and negative relationship between SOC and the intensity of PTSD and the theories that postulated the curvilinear relationship.

Keywords:

• sense of coherence
• posttraumatic stress disorder
• temperament
• gender differences
• exposure to trauma

Acknowledgements

This article was supported by the Grant PL0088 from the Financial Mechanism established by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Financial Mechanism and the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education. We would like to express our gratitude to anonymous Reviewers for their very helpful comments to the draft of this article.