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
. 2019 Feb;43(1):259-271.
doi: 10.1007/s10608-018-9959-9. Epub 2018 Sep 11.

Posttraumatic Mental Contamination and the Interpersonal Psychological Theory of Suicide: Effects via DSM-5 PTSD Symptom Clusters

C Alex Brake  1 , Thomas G Adams  2   3 , Caitlyn O Hood  1 , Christal L Badour  1
Affiliations

Posttraumatic Mental Contamination and the Interpersonal Psychological Theory of Suicide: Effects via DSM-5 PTSD Symptom Clusters

C Alex Brake et al. Cognit Ther Res. 2019 Feb.

Abstract

Research has yet to establish a relationship between posttraumatic mental contamination and suicide risk, despite theoretical overlap. The present study examined relationships between posttraumatic mental contamination and suicide risk via posttraumatic stress symptom clusters and appraisals of perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness. Trauma-exposed participants (N=183) completed measures of posttraumatic mental contamination, posttraumatic stress symptoms, thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness, and suicide risk. Findings revealed significant indirect effects of posttraumatic mental contamination on suicide risk via all posttraumatic stress symptom clusters. Significant serial indirect effects of posttraumatic mental contamination on suicide risk were observed via posttraumatic avoidance and arousal/reactivity and, subsequently, via thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness. Serial models via posttraumatic re-experiencing and negative cognitions/mood symptoms were nonsignificant. Results suggest that posttraumatic mental contamination may increase suicide risk via posttraumatic stress symptom severity, and maladaptive interpersonal appraisals may explain these links through distinct symptom pathways. Implications for posttraumatic suicide risk are discussed.

Keywords: PTSD; appraisals; mental contamination; perceived burdensomeness; suicide; thwarted belongingness.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest All authors declare they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Model 1a: The indirect effect of posttraumatic mental contamination on suicide risk via total PTSD symptoms and thwarted belongingness. Model 1b: The indirect effect of posttraumatic mental contamination on suicide risk via total PTSD symptoms and perceived burdensomeness. Model covariates include biological sex, history of unwanted sexual experience, contact contamination, and depression. For total and indirect effect results, see Tables 3 and 4. *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001, +p < .10.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Models 2a-2d: The indirect effects of posttraumatic mental contamination on suicide risk via separate PTSD symptom clusters and thwarted belongingness. Model covariates include biological sex, history of unwanted sexual experience, contact contamination, and depression. For total and indirect effect results, see Tables 3 and 4. *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001, +p < .10.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Models 3a-3d: The indirect effects of posttraumatic mental contamination on suicide risk via separate PTSD symptom clusters and perceived burdensomeness. Model covariates include biological sex, history of unwanted sexual experience, contact contamination, and depression. For total and indirect effect results, see Tables 3 and 4. *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001, +p < .10.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
    1. Antony MM, Bieling PJ, Cox BJ, Enns MW, & Swinson RP (1998). Psychometric properties of the 42-item and 21-item versions of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales in clinical groups and a community sample. Psychological Assessment, 10(2), 176–181.
    1. Badour CL, Feldner MT, Babson KA, Blumenthal H, & Dutton CE (2013a). Disgust, mental contamination, and posttraumatic stress: Unique relations following sexual versus non-sexual assault. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 27(1), 155–162. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Badour CL, Feldner MT, Blumenthal H, & Bujarski SJ (2013b). Examination of increased mental contamination as a potential mechanism in the association between disgust sensitivity and sexual assault-related posttraumatic stress. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 3(4)7, 697–703. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Badour CL, Ojserkis R, McKay D, & Feldner MT (2014). Disgust as a unique affective predictor of mental contamination following sexual trauma. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 28(7), 704–711. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2014.07.007 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources