Intentional Forgetting of Emotional Words after Trauma: A Study with Victims of Sexual Assault

Following exposure to a trauma, people tend to experience intrusive thoughts and memories about the event. In order to investigate whether intrusive memories in the aftermath of trauma might be accounted for by an impaired ability to intentionally forget disturbing material, the present study used a modified Directed Forgetting task to examine intentional forgetting and intrusive recall of words in sexual assault victims and controls. By including words related to the trauma in addition to neutral, positive, and threat-related stimuli it was possible to test for trauma-specific effects. No difference between the Trauma and the Control group was found for correct recall of to-be-forgotten (F) words or to-be-remembered (R) words. However, when recalling words from R-list, the Trauma group mistakenly recalled significantly more trauma-specific words from F-list. “Intrusive“ recall of F-trauma words when asked to recall R-words was related to symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder reported on the Impact of Event Scale and the Post-traumatic Diagnostic Scale. The results are discussed in term of a source-monitoring account

Remembering and forgetting after trauma: Studies of cognition with victims of sexual assault

The overarching goal in the present project was to investigate memory processes in trauma-exposed individuals. In three studies, processes of remembering and forgetting were examined in trauma-exposed individuals who had experienced sexual abuse and non traumaexposed controls. Trauma-exposed individuals experience some degree of repetitive thoughts and intrusive memories. Deficits in intentional forgetting and retrieval-induced forgetting, both thought to be underpinned by inhibition mechanisms, have been proposed to be a cause of intrusive memories in the aftermath of trauma. The studies reported in paper I and II employed a variant of Retrieval Induced Forgetting task (RIF) and the Directed Forgetting task (DF) to investigate the relationship between trauma and forgetting mechanisms. By including trauma-specific cue words, in addition to neutral, positive and threat-related cue words, it was possible to test for trauma-specific effects. The results reported in paper I showed no differences in RIF between trauma-exposed participants and controls. However, we found a general tendency for eradicated RIF for emotional material. The finding that RIF does not work for emotional material might have different consequences for non trauma-exposed individuals as opposed to trauma-exposed individuals. For non trauma-exposed healthy individuals this tendency might be relatively harmless and perhaps be reflected in rumination over previous negative or positive experiences. In the aftermath of trauma, however, the very same tendency might have a more negative impact, because memories that repeatedly intrude into consciousness are experienced as very disturbing. Uncomfortable intrusive memories from a traumatic experience might lead trauma victims to avoid such memories through intentional forgetting. Paradoxically, attempting to intentionally forget can have the effect that unwanted thoughts rebound with even greater persistence (Wegner, 1989). The findings in paper II showed that there was no difference between trauma-exposed and non trauma-exposed participants in correct recall of to-beforgotten words of any valence, suggesting that the trauma-exposed participants were neither better nor worse than their non trauma-exposed peers in intentional forgetting. In sum, the findings in paper I and II did not support a hypothesis of impaired inhibition mechanisms in trauma-exposed individuals. However, the results reported in paper II did show that trauma-exposed individuals had a higher level of “Intrusive“ recall of to-beforgotten trauma words when asked to recall to-be-remembered words. Moreover, this tendency was related to symptoms of intrusion reported on the IES. This might suggest problems in source monitoring of trauma-related material in trauma-exposed individuals. Paper III investigated the relationship between trauma exposure and specificity and temporal distribution of autobiographical memories and future directed thoughts. A relationship between trauma symptoms and reduced specificity of autobiographical memories was found, but no such relationship was found for future-directed thoughts. The results reported in paper III suggest that trauma symptoms only influence the specificity of mental time travel to the past, and not to the future. No difference in temporal distribution of future directed thoughts or autobiographical memories between trauma-exposed participants and controls was found. In summary, this thesis contributes to the understanding of processes of remembering and forgetting in trauma-exposed individuals

Autobiographical memory specificity in trauma exposed adolescents

Abstract A recent line of research has demonstrated that individuals exposed to potentially traumatizing events exhibit difficulties in retrieving specific autobiographical memories. Moreover, research has revealed that this tendency is associated with trauma related psychological disorders, such as PTSD and depression. The present study investigated the relationship between trauma exposure and autobiographical memory specificity in adolescents. A group of Bosnian adolescents who experienced war trauma in childhood were compared with Norwegian adolescents without previous exposure to war trauma in relation to autobiographical memory specificity, as measured by the Autobiographical Memory Test. In addition the two groups were compared in relation to semantic autobiographical memory, as measured by a semantic Autobiographical Memory Test. Furthermore, the relationship between autobiographical memory retrieval and self report measures of depression, intrusion and avoidance symptoms, and dissociation symptoms were investigated. Results revealed that the Bosnian group responded with significantly fewer specific autobiographical memories compared to the Norwegian control group. Instead the Bosnian group responded with significantly more extended and categorical autobiographical memories. Moreover, the Bosnian group demonstrated significantly shorter retrieval latencies compared to the Norwegian control group. No significant correlations between autobiographical memory specificity and self report measures for depression, dissociation or intrusion and avoidance were found. Furthermore, for the Bosnian group no relationship between trauma exposure and semantic autobiographical memory was found. The present findings are discussed in relation to previous findings in adult samples and in relation to Williams (1996) developmental hypothesis of overgeneral autobiographical memory retrieval

No buffer effect of perceived social support for people exposed to violence during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional community study

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has represented a burden to communities worldwide. Research indicates that this burden is not equally distributed in the community, and vulnerable groups, such as violence-exposed individuals may pay a particularly high prize. Perceived social support is known to buffer against negative effects of trauma and adversity, but it is not clear whether this is the case during times of social restrictions and lockdowns. In this study, we tested if perceived social support could buffer the link between pandemic worry and psychological distress in a community sample and in the subgroup exposed to violence during the pandemic. Methods: A stratified, presumed representative sample of the Norwegian population (N = 1,041, response rate = 39.9%) responded to a cross-sectional web survey in May 2020. Fifty-nine participants (5.7%) had been exposed to physical, sexual, and/or psychological violence during the last month. Results: Current violence, pandemic worry, and perceived social support were independently associated with psychological distress. In the total sample, perceived social support moderated the relationship between pandemic worry and psychological distress. However, this was not found in individuals who were exposed to current violence. Conclusions: Even though high levels of perceived social support can protect against psychological distress in the face of pandemic worry in the community, it seems that this resource is not as useful for individuals exposed to current violence. Outreach health and care services are warranted to support the needs of this particular vulnerable group

Trust and social relationships in times of the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: It is well known that the quality of social relationships is related to mental health, particularly in the face of adversity. Social relationships are complex and can perhaps not be fully understood from a purely individual perspective. Recent contributions have highlighted the need for a societal or ecological approach (Ajduković, ; Bryant, ; Maercker & Hecker, ). In this study, we expand on previous social relationships research by investigating generalized trust (the belief that most other people can be trusted) during the COVID-19 pandemic, which we conceptualize as a slow-motion disaster. Not only close relationships, but also generalized trust, are associated with better physical and mental health, prosperity, and well-being (Dinesen, ). As such, generalized trust is an asset that may help people to cope with adversities. The knowledge about generalized trust in disasters is very limited, but a few studies have indicated that the external threat and the display of mutual aid may stimulate increased connectedness and a sense of community in the general population (Cassar, Healy, & Von Kessler, ; Sibley et al., ). Directly exposed individuals, however, may feel marginalized and expelled. In this study, we investigate the potential impact of the pandemic on generalized trust. Objectives: The objectives of the current study were to assess whether generalized trust had increased in an early pandemic phase compared to pre-pandemic levels, and whether trust was lower in individuals who felt particularly threatened or were particularly burdened in the pandemic. Methods: We compared levels of generalized trust in a population-representative Norwegian sample (n = 1041) with pre-pandemic levels measured in the European Social Survey (ESS). Age- and gender-adjusted expected scores were compared to observed scores, using weighted data. Secondly, we tested whether indicators of pandemic-related strains, perceived health risk, or pandemic-related worry were associated with a reduced level of generalized trust. This cross-sectional study was conducted in an early opening-up phase (May 2020). Results: The observed levels of generalized trust in an early pandemic phase did not differ significantly from expected levels based on pre-pandemic measures. Increased trust was found for individuals who reported personal experience with COVID-19 (tested positive, admitted to hospital, or lost someone to the disease). Pandemic-related worry and a high perceived health threat were both associated with a lower level of generalized trust. Conclusions: Individuals who had personal experience with the disease may have had first-hand experiences with kindness and helpfulness from medical personnel or from other people, which may have generalized into increased trust in other people. People who feel particularly vulnerable or worried may lose trust in others, which constitutes a loss of a potentially protective factor. Our results suggest that generalized trust in other people may be affected by disasters and adversity, both positively and negatively, depending on the individual’s personal disaster experiences. Generalized trust may be an important, although often overlooked, protective factor for people who face trauma and adversity