Work

Autonomic Arousal and Emotion in Victims of Interpersonal Violence: Shame Proneness But Not Anxiety Predicts Vagal Tone

Year: 2015

Type: article

Abstract: The redefinition of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, has highlighted a range of posttraumatic affects beyond fear and anxiety. For survivors of interpersonal violence, shame has been shown to be an important contributor of self-reported symptomatology. Although biological models of PTSD emphasize physiological arousal secondary to fear and anxiety, evidence suggests that shame might be related to increased arousal as well. This study tested the contributions of anxiety, fear, and shame to autonomic arousal in a sample of female victims (N = 27) of interpersonal violence with PTSD. Shame proneness was the only significant correlate of autonomic arousal during a trauma reminder paradigm. These findings indicate that shame corresponds to important indicators of changes to the autonomic nervous system that have previously been assumed to be fear related.

Source: Journal of Trauma & Dissociation

DOI: 10.1080/15299732.2015.1004771

Authors: Steven Freed, Wendy D’Andrea

Institution: The New School

Language: English

Topic: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research

Subfield: Clinical Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: green

Funder: National Institute of Mental Health