Effects of Trauma and Victimhood on Dissociative Experiences and Posttraumatic Stress Response

Abstract

We investigated the effects of trauma and victimhood (paranoid ideation) on posttraumatic stress response (PTSR) and dissociation in 207 undergraduate students classified into traumatic and non-traumatic stress groups (n=38 and n=169 respectively). The results of a multiple regression analysis indicated that trauma and the frequency of paranoid ideation significantly affected dissociative experiences, that the frequency and distress of paranoid ideation significantly affected PTSR, and that trauma did not significantly affect PTSR. Thus, victimhood may account for severe PTSR caused by mild stress.