Types of trauma-related blame following interpersonal trauma.

OBJECTIVE: The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) now includes trauma-related blame as a symptom of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD Criterion D3; American Psychiatric Association, 2013). To date, most blame research has utilized quantitative scales, primarily for self-blame, with little attention to other forms of blame. The aims of this study were to (a) identify the common blame types reported by interpersonal trauma survivors through open-ended statements, and (b) explore how well these blame types converge with the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) screener's blame item and total scores. METHOD: Using a mixed-method design, interpersonal trauma survivors (N = 132) completed the Life Events Checklist and the PCL-5. They also provided a written statement indicating why they believe their traumatic event occurred, which was later coded into types of blame by three independent raters. RESULTS: Five blame types emerged from survivors' statements: self, perpetrator, other, global, and circumstance. However, in most cases the presence or absence of each of the blame types was not reliably associated with posttraumatic distress. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that trauma-related blame attributions are more nuanced than is typically measured and that factors such as the degree of distress caused by a particular blame attribution, or how believable the thought is to the survivor, might be more clinically meaningful than the specific content of the belief. Clinicians and researchers might benefit from the development of a more nuanced measure of trauma-related blame. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

A pilot study of the trauma recovery group for veterans with post traumatic stress disorder and co-occurring serious mental illness.

BACKGROUND: Many Veterans may not benefit from gold-standard evidence-based treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) because they suffer from co-occurring serious mental illness (SMI). AIMS: This pilot study is the first to evaluate the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of the Trauma Recovery Group in a sample of Veterans with PTSD and SMI. METHODS: Fourteen Veterans with PTSD and SMI were enrolled in a 21-session group-based cognitive behavioral therapy program targeting PTSD. The PTSD Checklist was the primary outcome measure; secondary outcomes included the Participant Health Questionnaire, the Post Traumatic Cognitions Inventory, and the Beck Cognitive Insight Scale. RESULTS: Seventy-one percent of participants completed the trial. The intervention was associated with a significant reduction of PTSD symptoms and a trend-level reduction of maladaptive post-traumatic cognitions. There was a significant positive correlation between change in PTSD symptoms and change in post-traumatic cognitions. CONCLUSIONS: The findings support the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of the Trauma Recovery Group for Veterans with co-occurring PTSD and SMI, and suggest that controlled research on the program is warranted.

Neurocognition and cognitive biases in schizophrenia.

Individuals with schizophrenia have been found to exhibit a number of information processing biases that may play a role in the development and exacerbation of symptoms and may impair overall functioning. However, little is known about the factors that are associated with these cognitive biases. Recently, researchers have begun to consider whether neurocognitive deficits, common in schizophrenia, may be risk factors for the development of cognitive biases. In the present study, we assessed neurocognition (verbal learning, delayed verbal recall memory, and verbal recognition memory) and cognitive biases (knowledge corruption and impaired cognitive insight) in 72 individuals with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. As hypothesized, poorer delayed verbal recall memory was associated with increased knowledge corruption. Contrary to expectations, verbal learning and verbal memory were not associated with cognitive insight. These findings suggest that an inadequate recall memory system may put patients with schizophrenia at greater risk for cognitive distortions.