Impact Statement Coding of Self-Related Thought in Women With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Clinical and empirical studies have documented significant alterations in self-related thought in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). To our knowledge, however, few studies have examined self-referential cognition by analyzing survivors' written impact statements in individuals whose PTSD is due to interpersonal trauma. In the current study, we performed a linguistic analysis of impact statements (i.e., descriptions of how the trauma has affected the survivors' views of themselves, others, and the world) collected at the start of therapy from women with PTSD that was due to interpersonal trauma, with the goal of determining whether PTSD symptom clusters were associated with altered self-referential thought. We found that higher levels of PTSD-related hyperarousal symptoms were significantly associated with diminished self-related word use, after controlling for depression severity, f² = .31. Similarly, diminished negative self-related word use was associated with higher levels of hyperarousal symptoms, f² = .47. Our findings align with previous research that has provided evidence for a diminished sense of self in PTSD. These results may help inform targeted interventions aimed at improving social-affective functions in PTSD and other psychiatric conditions.