Citation

Nixon RD, Bryant RA, Moulds ML, Felmingham KL, Mastrodomenico JA. J. Trauma. Stress 2005; 18(2): 107-113.

Affiliation

Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia 5001. reg.nixon@flinders.edu.au

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/jts.20019

PMID

16281202

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to examine whether the finding of suppressed physiological activity in dissociative rape-trauma victims (Griffin, Resick, & Mechanic, 1997) was replicable in a nonsexual assault trauma group. A sample of 17 high-dissociating (HD) participants and 18 low-dissociating (LD) participants who had experienced a motor vehicle accident or physical assault described their trauma while skin conductance, heart rate activity, and self-reported mood were recorded. HD individuals demonstrated a trend for elevated heart rate during the experiment compared with LD participants, but both groups displayed comparable skin-conductance levels. Curve estimation analysis indicated that the two groups had a similar pattern of physiological responding during the trauma narratives. These findings challenge the notion that dissociative reactions are associated with reduced psychophysiological arousal after trauma.

Language: en