Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 7, 2025

Use of a Psychophysiological Script-driven Imagery Experiment to Study Trauma-related Dissociation in Borderline Personality Disorder
Published on: March 8, 2018
Experiential avoidance, uncompassionate self-responding, and peritraumatic depersonalization/derealization: A novel
Teresa Carvalho1,2, José Pinto-Gouveia1, Marina Cunha1,2
1Cognitive-Behavioral Research Centre (CINEICC), Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
Objective:
To explore a novel model for war-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology including emotion regulation processes, namely experiential avoidance (EA) and uncompassionate self-responding (USR), mediating the impact of childhood threat memories, combat exposure distress, combat and noncombat threats, and peritraumatic depersonalization/derealization (PDD) on PTSD symptomatology.
Method:
A sample of 650 male Portuguese Overseas War veterans filled self-report instruments.
Results:
The model explained 59% of the variance of PTSD symptomatology. Both EA and USR mediated the effects of noncombat threats and PDD on PTSD. Additionally, EA mediated combat exposure distress and USR mediated childhood threat memories. Combat exposure distress, combat and noncombat threats, and PDD showed direct effects on PTSD symptomatology.
Conclusion:
The findings help to better understand the relationship between predictive factors of war-related PTSD in clinical and research settings, providing novel insights on the effects of combat exposure distress, and the different effects of combat and noncombat-related threats on PTSD.
Related Concept Videos
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
Symptoms and Behavioral Manifestations
A spectrum of distressing symptoms characterizes PTSD. Recurrent flashbacks, where individuals involuntarily relive traumatic events,...
Repressed Memory
Dissociative Disorders
Dissociative Fugue
A hallmark feature of dissociative disorders is the dissociative fugue...
Dissociative Identity Disorder
Traumatic Memory
Modeling in Therapy
Participant Modeling
Participant modeling involves therapists demonstrating calm and effective behaviors in...

