Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Nov 28:10:2281-4.
doi: 10.2147/NDT.S74317. eCollection 2014.

Posttraumatic stress symptoms, dissociation, and alexithymia in an Italian sample of flood victims

Giuseppe Craparo  1 , Alessio Gori  2 , Elvira Mazzola  1 , Irene Petruccelli  1 , Monica Pellerone  1 , Giuseppe Rotondo  3
Affiliations

Posttraumatic stress symptoms, dissociation, and alexithymia in an Italian sample of flood victims

Giuseppe Craparo et al. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. .

Abstract

Background: Several studies have demonstrated a significant association between dissociation and posttraumatic symptoms. A dissociative reaction during a traumatic event may seem to predict the later development of posttraumatic stress symptoms. Moreover, several researchers also observed an alexithymic condition in a variety of traumatized samples.

Methods: A total of 287 flood victims (men =159, 55.4%; women =128, 44.6%) with an age range of 17-21 years (mean =18.33; standard deviation =0.68) completed the following: Impact of Event Scale-Revised, Dissociative Experiences Scale II, Twenty-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale, and Peritraumatic Dissociative Experiences Questionnaire.

Results: We found significant correlations among all variables. Linear regression showed that peritraumatic dissociation plays a mediator role between alexithymia, dissociation, and post-traumatic stress symptoms.

Conclusion: Our results seem to confirm the significant roles of both dissociation and alexithymia for the development of posttraumatic symptoms.

Keywords: PTSD; peritraumatic dissociation; posttraumatic symptoms.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Lensvelt-Mulders G, van der Hart O, van Ochten JM, van Son MJM, Steele K, Breeman L. Relations among peritraumatic dissociations and posttraumatic stress: A meta-analysis. Clin Psychol Rev. 2008;28:1138–1151. - PubMed
    1. Murray J, Ehlers A, Mayou RA. Dissociation and post-traumatic stress disorders: two prospective studies of road traffic accident survivors. Br J Psychiatry. 2002;180:363–368. - PubMed
    1. Yehuda R, Steiner A, Kahana B, et al. Alexithymia in Holocaust survivors with and without PTSD. J Trauma Stress. 1997;10:93–100. - PubMed
    1. Badura AS. Theoretical and empirical exploration of the similarities between emotional numbing in posttraumatic stress disorder and alexithymia. J Anxiety Disord. 2003;17:349–360. - PubMed
    1. Monson CM, Price JL, Rodriguez BF, Ripley MP, Warner RA. Emotional deficits in military-related PTSD: an investigation of content and process disturbances. J Trauma Stress. 2004;17(3):275–279. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources