Linguistic predictors of trauma pathology and physical health

Abstract

The present study examined how speci®c linguistic elements in trauma narratives were associated with post-treatment psychopathology and physical symptoms. We analysed the narratives of 28 female assault victims being treated for chronic PTSD. During exposure therapy, participants were asked to recount their assault`as if it was happening now'. These trauma narratives were videotaped, transcribed, and analysed using a linguistic coding program. In particular, narratives containing words about death and dying were associated with worse post-treatment functioning. This relationship could not be accounted for by assault-related characteristics. The focus on death and dying in the trauma narrative may re¯ect the concept of mental defeat, suggesting a possible target for intervention in cognitive-behavioural treatment of PTSD.

Investigating linguistic coherence relations in child sexual abuse: A comparison of PTSD and non-PTSD children

“…Third, in our study the cognitive mechanisms (in particular, insight words) was lower in narratives of children with PTSD, compared to children without PTSD. These results were in line with the literature, that suggests that the proportion of cognitive words is often mentioned as agent of the mental change and as an index of the active processing of the traumatic experience (e.g., Alvarez-Conrad et al., 2001; Amir et al., 1998; Foa et al., 1995; Pennebaker et al., 1997; van Minnen et al., 2002). Namely, as more functional and adaptive strategies have developed to cope with the trauma (and even the active PTSD symptoms are reabsorbed), the traumatic narratives are enriched by references to the internal world, which are markers of a great reflective capacity (e.g., D'Andrea et al., 2012; Di Blasio et al., 2012; Kross and Ayduk, 2008).…”

Linguistic Predictors of Mindfulness in Written Self-Disclosure Narratives

“…Among women in both conditions, increases in cognitive processing words were associated with increased describing of present stimuli and with increased overall mindfulness. These findings are consistent with previous research showing that relatively more frequent use of cognitive processing words in the narrative emotional disclosure task is associated with beneficial mental health outcomes (Alvarez-Conrad et al, 2001; Ullrich & Lutgendorf, 2002). It is puzzling that significant associations between cognitive processing words and mindfulness did not emerge among all subgroups of our sample.…”

The nature of trauma memories in acute stress disorder in children and adolescents

“…The absence of a significant relationship between emotional indices and ASD status in the current study is also consistent with results from both the adult (Alvarez‐Conrad, Zoellner, & Foa, 2001; Harvey & Bryant, 1999; Jones et al, 2007; Zoellner et al, 2002; though see Manne et al, 2002) and child literatures (Kenardy et al, 2007). This finding may reflect attempts by those experiencing clinically significant post‐trauma stress responses to control their affect when narrating the trauma.…”