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Background
The centrality of an event indicates the extent to which it becomes a core part of identity and life story. Event centrality (EC) has been shown to have a strong relationship with PTSD symptoms, which seems to be indirectly influenced by negative posttraumatic cognitions (PTC). However, research on this potential mediation and its causal links particularly with clinical samples is limited and essential to derive treatment implications.
Methods
Pre- and posttreatment data of 103 day-unit patients with PTSD was examined using mediation analyses and structural equation modeling.
Results
Negative PTC mediated the relationship between EC and PTSD symptoms, partially pre- and completely posttreatment. Within extended longitudinal analyses causal directions of the mediation pathways were not adequately interpretable due to unexpected suppression effects.
Conclusions
The results suggest that EC may only have an indirect effect on PTSD symptoms through negative PTC. Thus, decreasing negative PTC which are connected to centralized events might be a key element for PTSD treatment. Thereby, transforming the cognitions' valence to more positive and constructive forms could be crucial rather than mere decentralization. Although suppression effects limited causal inferences, they do not contradict the mediation and further indicate potential interactional terms and a transformation of EC.
Listening to the heart
(2019)
Objective: The affective-reflective theory of physical inactivity and exercise suggests that the mere thought of exercise can lead to an immediate somato-affective response which, if negative, will drive a physically inactive person to maintain his or her current exercise-avoidant behavior. This study aimed to test the assumption that the somatic core of this affective response can be identified by means of heart rate variability (HRV) analysis. Design: This study followed a within-subject experimental design. Method. Participants were 91 adult men and women whose HR and HRV were monitored whilst they viewed exercise-related and control pictures in a laboratory setting. Results: Analyses revealed a decrease in HRV during the viewing of exercise-related pictures in less physically active participants. These participants reported that the same pictures elicited feelings with relatively low affective valence and arousal. There were no changes in HR.