Trauma cognitions as intervening variables in the relation of chronic child abuse and thwarted interpersonal needs

Chronic childhood trauma is consistently linked to negative mental health outcomes in adulthood, but research exploring specific paths of risk remains limited. The aims of the current study were to examine trauma cognitions as intervening variables in the relation of chronic victimization with perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness, variables implicated in transdiagnostic risk for psychopathology.

Semistructured interviews were used to identify university students reporting exposure to systematic physical and/or sexual violence prior to age 18 (n = 101) versus those experiencing other Criterion-A events (n = 254). Trauma cognitions (self, world, and self-blame) and thwarted interpersonal needs (burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness) were measured using scores from the posttrauma cognitions inventory (PTCI) and the Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire-10 (INQ-10). Path models in these cross-sectional data were evaluated to assess the indirect effects of chronic abuse on burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness through self, world, and blame cognitions.

An initial model indicated associations of chronic victimization on self (p = .044) and world (p = .005) scales of the PTCI and a unique effect of self-beliefs on INQ-10 burdensomeness (p < .001). An indirect effect of abuse on burdensomeness through self-beliefs was supported (p = .050). A second model identified direct effects of PTCI self (p < .001) and world (p < .001) scores on thwarted belongingness as well as an indirect effect of chronic abuse on belongingness through world beliefs (p = .026).

While typically assessed within the context of posttraumatic stress disorder, results suggest that shifts in fundamental beliefs about the self and the world may have more general impacts on perceptions of burdensomeness and belonging in survivors of early, systematic abuse. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).