The role of repetitive thought in determining posttraumatic growth and distress following interpersonal trauma

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Repetitive thought (RT) strategies have been linked to a range of negative outcomes following traumatic interpersonal events but are proposed to serve an adaptive function under particular circumstances. This study examined outcomes following RT within a transdiagnostic framework, and explored the potentially adaptive nature of trait-like and event-related RT. Design: The centrality of a traumatic event to one's identity was explored as a context under which the adaptive nature of RT might change. Young adults with interpersonal violence experiences (N = 163) reported use of trait-like and event-related RT, centrality of the event, depressive, anxious, and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), posttraumatic depreciation and posttraumatic growth. Methods: Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to examine main and moderating effects of four types of RT and event centrality on outcome variables. Results: Centrality positively predicted depressive symptoms and PTSS, depreciation, and growth. Brooding RT positively predicted all negative outcomes. Reflecting RT positively predicted anxious symptoms and PTSS and depreciation. Only deliberate RT positively predicted growth. Centrality did not moderate any examined relationships. Conclusions: Findings highlight the importance of addressing specific types of RT in interventions with survivors and of considering centrality as a robust contributor to outcomes following interpersonal violence.

Keywords:

• repetitive thought
• transdiagnostic implications
• posttraumatic growth
• posttraumatic stress
• event centrality

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Another set of regressions was run with centrality and all four RT scores entered into step one and a single interaction term entered in the second step (i.e. four regressions were run separately on each outcome). This was done in order to explore these interactions independently. Only one interaction term was a significant predictor of outcome, and this revealed that the relationship between brooding and PTG was moderated by centrality such that, for those with centrality scores two standard deviations above the mean, brooding was related to a sharper decline in PTG. These results were not deemed to be clinically meaningful and did not enhance understanding of the relationship between these variables. Rather, the models described in the text are thought to better capture the complex relationships between the RT variables and centrality.