Peritraumatic Tonic Immobility and Trauma-Related Symptoms in Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse: The Role of Posttrauma Cognitions

Abstract

Tonic immobility is a set of involuntary motor responses elicited under conditions of extreme fear and perceived inescapability, and it is one type of peritraumatic distress reported by survivors of child sexual abuse. Experiencing tonic immobility during child sexual abuse is associated with increased risk for developing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, although less is known about relations between tonic immobility and other established risk factors for post-traumatic stress disorder. We investigated posttraumatic cognitions as a potential mediator of the relations between peritraumatic fear, perceptions of inescapability, tonic immobility, and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. Specifically, we tested posttraumatic negative beliefs about the self, the world, and self-blame as pathways that might increase risk for post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in child sexual abuse survivors who had experienced tonic immobility. Forty-six women with a history of unwanted childhood sexual contact completed questionnaires measuring peritraumatic tonic immobility, posttraumatic cognitions, and current posttraumatic stress symptoms. Negative beliefs about the self independently mediated the relation between peritraumatic perceptions of inescapability and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, but the data did not support similar path model for the physical symptoms of tonic immobility and post-traumatic stress disorder. We discuss ways in which treatment of survivors and future research on CSA can benefit from attention to the impact of peritraumatic distress on posttraumatic beliefs.

KEYWORDS:

• assault
• freezing
• perceived inescapability
• PTSD
• self-blame

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported in part by NIH NCRR G12RR003037-25S3 to Mariann R. Weierich and NIH NIMHD MD007599 to Hunter College CUNY.

Notes on contributors

Brian R. Van Buren

Brian Van Buren, MA, is a doctoral student in clinical psychology in the Department of Psychology at Long Island University. His research interests include the effects of trauma on interpersonal functioning and personality. He received his MA from Hunter College CUNY.

Mariann R. Weierich

Mariann Weierich, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at Hunter College CUNY and a member of the doctoral faculty of the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Her current research interests focus on the neural and behavioral mechanisms of stress and stress-related disorders. She received her PhD from Yale University.