Citation

Pinciotti CM, Orcutt HK. J. Cogn. Psychother. 2021; 35(4): 330-347.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Springer Publishing)

DOI

10.1891/JCPSY-D-20-00053

PMID

35236751

Abstract

Women are at notable risk for negative reactions from others following sexual victimization which serve to intensify negative post-traumatic outcomes. The current study tested the effectiveness of cognitive bias modification-appraisal (CBM-App) training targeting post-traumatic cognitions theorized to be impacted by positive and negative social support with 45 female undergraduates, grouped by experiencing overall positive or negative post-assault support. Whereas all participants experienced improvements in post-traumatic cognitions at 1-week follow-up, a crossover effect for intrusion symptoms was found; CBM-App training reduced intrusions in participants with negative support experiences yet increased intrusions in participants with positive support experiences. While findings highlight the need for careful selection of post-trauma interventions, the study is the first to integrate findings from CBM-App, sexual assault, and social support literature. Socially relevant post-traumatic cognitions appear to be malleable and may be an important focus of treatment for survivors who experienced negative post-assault support.

Language: en

Keywords

sexual assault; post-traumatic stress symptoms; cognitive bias modification; post-traumatic cognitions; social reactions