Posttraumatic Appraisals Mediate the Relationship Between Childhood Psychological Abuse and Complex PTSD Symptom Severity
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12098660 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Justin R Watts (University of North Texas, corresponding author), Justin Watts (0009-0005-0083-0797, Department of Rehabilitation Health Services, College of Health and Public Service University of North Texas Denton Texas USA), Jaeyoung Kim (0000-0001-6983-7907, Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education, College of Education Michigan State University East Lansing Michigan USA), Lindsey Warwick (0000-0001-7871-2081, Department of Clinical Mental Health Counseling College of Social Sciences Southern Oregon University Ashland Oregon USA) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 103 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 276-287 |
| Publication date | 2025-03-31 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Counseling & Development (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0748-9633 • E-ISSN: 1556-6676 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/jcad.12561 |
| OpenAlex | W4409060455 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 53 |
Previous research established a connection between childhood psychological abuse (CPA), a common but understudied form of child maltreatment, and symptoms of posttraumatic stress. However, the connection between CPA and complex PTSD remains underexplored. This study investigated the relationship between CPA, posttraumatic appraisals (i.e., fear, alienation, betrayal, self‐blame, anger, and shame), and complex PTSD symptoms among a sample of 263 college students using structural equation modeling. The model uncovered significant direct and indirect effects, demonstrating a significant association between CPA and posttraumatic appraisals. Further, posttraumatic appraisals were significantly associated with complex PTSD symptoms. The indirect effect of CPA on complex PTSD symptoms via posttraumatic appraisals was significant, confirming the mediating role of posttraumatic appraisals between CPA and complex PTSD symptoms. The model demonstrated substantial explanatory power, explaining 51.9% of the variance in posttraumatic appraisals and 94.7% of the variance in complex PTSD symptoms. Implications for counselors are discussed
Child abuse · Childhood abuse · Medical emergency · Poison control · Posttraumatic stress · Psychiatry · Child Abuse and Trauma · Clinical Psychology · Human Factors and Ergonomics · Medicine · Migration, Health and Trauma · Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research · Psychology
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| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |