Stressful Life Memories Relate to Ruminative Thoughts in Women With Sexual Violence History, Irrespective of PTSD

Abstract

More than one in every four women in the world experience sexual violence (SV) in their lifetime, most often as teenagers and young adults. These traumatic experiences leave memories in the brain, which are difficult if not impossible to forget. We asked whether women with SV history experience stronger memories of their most stressful life event than women without SV history and if so, whether strength relates to ruminative and trauma-related thoughts. Using the Autobiographical Memory Questionnaire (AMQ), women with SV history (n = 64) reported this memory as especially strong (p < 0.001), remembering more sensory and contextual details, compared to women without SV history (n = 119). They further considered the event a significant part of their personal life story. The strength of the memory was highly correlated with posttraumatic cognitions and ruminative thoughts, as well as symptoms of depression and anxiety (p's < 0.001, n = 183). A third (33%) of the women with SV history were diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but PTSD alone did not account for the increase in memory strength (p's < 0.001). These data suggest that the experience of SV increases the strength of stressful autobiographical memories, which are then reexperienced in everyday life during posttraumatic and ruminative thoughts. We propose that the repeated rehearsal of vivid stressful life memories generates more trauma memories in the brain, making the experience of SV even more difficult to forget.

Keywords: PTSD; depression; fear; memory; rumination; sexual violence; stress; trauma.

Figure 1

(A) Women with sexual violence history reported significantly more details of an autobiographical memory of a past stressful event compared to women with no sexual violence history as assessed by the Autobiographical Memory Questionnaire (AMQ) ^*p < 0.001. (B) Women with sexual violence history reported significantly more details related to seeing the event in their mind, the temporal and spatial layout of the memory as well as the significance the memory played in their life compared to women with no sexual violence history. ^*p < 0.005, with Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons.

Figure 2

(A) Women with sexual violence history reported significantly greater numbers of ruminative thoughts as assessed by the Ruminative Responses Scale (RRS), as well as more (B) depressive, (C) brooding, and (D) reflective subtypes compared to women with no sexual violence history. ^*p < 0.001.

Figure 3

(A) Recall of an autobiographical memory of a past stressful event as assessed by the Autobiographical Memory Questionnaire (AMQ) and (B) trauma-related thoughts as assessed with the Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory (PTCI) correlated with ruminative thoughts as assessed by the Ruminative Responses Scale (RRS).

Figure 4

(A) Women with sexual violence history reported significantly more posttraumatic cognitions as assessed by the Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory (PTCI), (B) more depressive symptoms as assessed by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and (C) more anxiety symptoms as assessed by the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) compared to women with no sexual violence history. ^*p < 0.001.