The trauma factor: Examining the relationships among different types of trauma, dissociation, and psychopathology

Extensive research has reported a dose-response relationship between exposure to trauma and the severity of both dissociation and psychopathology. However, certain types of trauma may co-occur more frequently than others and specific combinations of traumatic experiences may relate differently to dissociative processes and psychiatric symptoms. In the current study, 359 adult participants completed questionnaires on traumatic experiences, dissociation, and psychopathology. A correlation network analysis showed that some types of trauma are more likely to co-occur and that especially traumatic experiences in attachment relationships during childhood were significantly associated with other trauma in life. A latent class analysis identified four classes of participants (namely, extremely traumatized, resilient to the impact of abuse, exposed to impersonal and social trauma, and reporting low levels of traumatization) who showed different profiles on trauma exposure, dissociation, and psychopathology. Mediation analyses further showed that dissociation partially mediated the relationship between different types of traumatic experiences and the severity of psychiatric symptoms. The findings of this study support the view that a comprehensive assessment of traumatic experiences and dissociation is needed in trauma research and clinical practice.