The Contributions of Different Types of Trauma and World Assumptions to Predicting Psychological Distress

The present study examined the differences on world assumptions following exposure to different forms of trauma, and the effect of world assumptions on levels of posttraumatic, depression, and dissociative symptoms. The sample included 4 different groups: survivors of childhood sexual abuse, grief, and whiplash and a control group. Structural equation modeling was conducted. Survivors of childhood sexual abuse presented the highest scores on assumptions about the worthiness of the self and the lowest scores on the benevolence of the world. Survivors of whiplash presented the highest scores on the meaningfulness of the world. Scores on the Worthiness of the Self's subscales predicted the levels on clinical measures among all groups of trauma survivors. Benevolence of people was a predictor of all clinical measures among grief survivors. Findings suggest that coping with traumatic events depends on the reconstruction of more realistic world assumptions tailored for each traumatic event. Interventions to rebuild assumptions about the benevolence of the world and self-worth should be a primary focus at the beginning of treatment.