final Flashcards
aspects in psychological variable
emotions, cognition & perception, self-concept (body image, self-esteem), sexuality, self-identity
affect regulation
- ability to maintain or increase positive feelings and wellbeing states and to minimize or regulate stress feelings & defensive states
affect regulation is responsible for
monitoring, evaluating & modifying emotional reactions to accomplish one’s goals
- more decision-making
affect regulation is considered a
type of emotional resilience
other words for affect regulation
emotion regulation or self-regulation
affect regulation may be or involve
automatic or involve purposeful cognitive processing
affect regulation requires what kind of awareness
emotional awareness (ability to distinguish b/w emotions) awareness of social context of emotions (social cognition)
ppl may not have affect regulation soooo
can teach ppl to think more about their emotional reactions & regulate
affect dysregulation
impaired ability to regulate or tolerate negative emotional states
ex: personality disorders, mood disorders
affect dysregulation following trauma: childhood adversity connected to
increased reactivity to stress, and creased capacity for emotional regulation in children, & often these problems are maintained in adulthood
both childhood trauma and emotional dysregulation/affect dysregulation are
highly correlated with a variety of mental illnesses, including PTSD, mood disorders, and personality disorders, anxiety disorders
severity of PTS symptoms correlated
with emotional dysregulation/affect dysregulation
some studies have identified emotional dysregulation/affect dysregulation as a
mediating factor b/w sexual trauma & revictimization
trauma survivors often react more
intensely to stimuli, and have less ability to calm themselves
deficits in self-soothing and affect regulation are
often connected to lack of secure attachment in childhood
2 indicators of affect dysregulation following trauma
hyperarousal & hypoarousal
hyperarousal indicators
- emotions are easily “triggered”
- hypervigilance
- psychomotor agitation (restless, pacing)
- anxiety
- sensitive to rejection
- overwhelmed emotionally
- positive symptoms
hypoarousal indicators
- flat affect
- less obvious
- emotional numbing, detachment (difficulty recognizing feelings)
- passive, submissive
- avoidant, withdrawn
- feeling disconnected from body
- negative symptoms (don’t feel emotions until its boiling over)
regulation theory - schore & schore “modern attachment theory”
- ability to manage emotional states depends upon successful attachment
- considers impact of attachment on brain development & neurobiological systems involved in processing emotions, modulating stress, and self-regulation
(schore & schore) affect regulation begins with inter-regulation:
- soothing, consistent nurturance from caretakers
- through experience of modeling, neurological imprinting, and learned behaviour, this gets introjected by child & leads to auto-regulation
traditional attachment theory shows implications for treatment for affect regulation
- attachment itself is relational (b/w infant & caregiver), & that the quality of these early attachment will influence development & future relationships
modern attachment theories shows implications for treatment for affect regulation
- further understand the influence of attachment on brain development, and that affect regulation is learned in the context of attachment (through modeling)
what implications does this (attachment) have for treating affect dysregulation
- attachment is disrupted, the relationship b/w victim & professional is IMPORTANT & the victim can learn through us through modeling to help work through their emotions
trauma & self-concept
- cognitive appraisal of an event, therefore, the meaning one makes of it, is critical to trauma response
following a potentially traumatic event,
individual develops beliefs about the event and about themselves in relation to this event (trauma & self-concept)
whats common with regards to self-concept & trauma
- traumatized individuals to internalize core beliefs or “negative underlying assumptions” of the self as being “unlovable”, “incompetent”, which impacts self-perception, self-esteem
trauma effects self-concept by
not allowing the process of trauma, gets stored in this way which reinforces the fact that it’s their fault
an example of trauma and self-concept
a child’s belief, “if i make a mistake, I am worthless” may be a consequence of ongoing abuse occurring whenever the child makes a mistake
trauma and shame
the intensely painful feeling that we are unworthy of love and belonging
scoglio et al (2015) 3 central components of self-compassion
- self-kindness
- common humanity
- mindfulness
self compassion is
- a way of internalizing the compassion of an imagined other
- associated with resilience & general wellbeing
self-compassion is negatively associated with
maladaptive states & behaviours, as well as psychiatric symptoms
self-compassion can enhance
emotional regulation
central findings of scoglio et al (2015)
- self-compassion negatively related to PTSD symptom severity & emotion dysregulation, & positively related to resilience
- emotion dysregulation mediated the relationship b/w PTSD symptom severity & self-compassion, & also influence relationship b/w resilience & self-compassion
high level of self-compassion=
low level of PTSD symptom severity & emotional dysregulation
trauma & impact on attention & consciousness causes
dissociation & depersonalization
dissociation is
disruption of integrated functions of consciousness, memory, identity, or perception of environment && occurs on a continuum
dissociation results in
losing touch with one’s surroundings, losing time
dissociation is an
adaptive response to traumatic experiences & their associated memories
when can dissociation become maladaptive
when it is triggered by a “false alarm”
depersonalization
sense of being detached from one’s own mental processes or body & sometimes accompanied by derealization (sense that the environment is unreal) occurs on a continuum
depersonalization serves as
means to escape from stressful or traumatic realities
recent research suggests about depersonalization that
emotional abuse may be especially linked to depersonalization disorder
disorders among children and adolescents who have experienced trauma
- reactive attachment disorders (early age, child will not have an attachment figure)
- disinhibited social engagement disorder (abnormal behaviour from neglect)
- acute stress disorder
- PTSD
- developmental trauma disorder
- oppositional defiant disorder
- ADHD
disorders among children and adolescents who have experienced trauma
- reactive attachment disorders (early age, child will not have an attachment figure)
- disinhibited social engagement disorder (abnormal behaviour from neglect)
- acute stress disorder
- PTSD
- developmental trauma disorder
- oppositional defiant disorder
- ADHD
common disorders among adults who have experienced past trauma
- PTSD
- adjustment disorder
- major depression (concurrent with PTSD)
- substance-related disorders
- anxiety disorders
- borderline personality disorder (high correlation w/ past trauma)
- eating disorders
- psychotic disorders
PTSD was originally categorized as
anxiety disorder
DSM-5 moved PTSD to
new category: trauma & stressor-related disorders & symptoms expanded to include changes in thinking and mood
DSM-5 4 factor model for PTSD
- intrusion
- avoidance
- alterations in arousal & reactivity
- negative alterations in cognition and mood
what is included in PTSD in DSM5
- inclusion of sexual violence within the core premise of trauma
- indirect exposure to trauma included
new subtype in DSM5 PTSD
- dissociative (prominent dissociative symptoms, either depersonalization or derealization)
criterion A of PTSD (1 required)
- person was exposed to: death, threatened death, actual/threatened serious injury, actual/threatened sexual violence in the following ways:
1. direct exposure
2. witnessing trauma
3. learning that a relative or close friend was exposed to trauma
4. indirect exposure to aversive details of trauma, usually through professional duties
criterion B of PTSD (1 required)
- traumatic event is persistently re-experienced, in ways:
1. intrusive thoughts
2. nightmares
3. flashbacks
4. emotional distress after exposure to traumatic reminders
5. physical reactivity after exposure to traumatic reminders
criterion C of PTSD (1 required)
avoidance of trauma-related stimuli after trauma in ways:
1. trauma-related thoughts or feelings
2. trauma-related reminders
criterion D of PTSD (2 required)
- negative thoughts/feelings that began or worsened after the trauma, in ways:
1. inability to recall key features of trauma
2. overly negative thoughts and assumptions about oneself or world
3. exaggerated blame of self or others for causing the trauma
4. difficulty experiencing positive affect
5. negative affect
6. decreased interest in activities
7. feeling isolated
criterion E (2 required) for PTSD
- trauma-related arousal & reactivity that began or worsened after the trauma, in ways:
1. irritability or aggression
2. risky or destructive behaviour
3. hypervigilance
4. heightened startle reaction
5. difficulty concentrating
6. difficulty sleeping
criterion F for ptsd
symptoms last for more than a month
criterion G for ptsd
symptoms create distress or functional impairment (social, work)
criterion H
symptoms are not due to medication, substance use or other illness
2 specifications of ptsd criteria
- dissociative specification: individual experiences high levels of either depersonalization or derealization
- delayed specification: full criteria not met until at least 6 months after trauma although symptoms may occur immediately
several other diagnoses have been proposed
complex ptsd, disorders of extreme stress not otherwise specified, post-traumatic personality disorder, developmental trauma
advocates of cptsd hoped that the
diagnosis would capture diverse clusters of symptoms observed in survivors of prolonged trauma that outside the current definition of ptsd
results of field trial that sought to explore whether victims of chronic interpersonal trauma meet criteria for ptsd
supported the notion that trauma is prolonged, that first occurs at early age & that of an interpersonal nature, can have significant effects on psychological functioning above & beyond ptsd
criticisms of cptsd (resick et al 2012)
- lack of clear definition-significant variability in descriptions of the types of traumatic event that contribute & in symptoms
- lack of discriminative validity (overlap b/w other disorders)
- lack of validated measurement/assessment tools
symptoms of cptsd include
several defining criteria of ptsd (re-experiencing, avoidance, numbing, and hyperarousal) + disturbances in self-organization
3 categories of cptsd
- affect dysregulation
- negative self-concept
- disturbances in relationships
compared to ptsd, individuals with cptsd have
higher degree of functional disturbances & tend to experience multiple & persistent traumas
- increased risk of both self-injury & repeated victimization
what are the implications of this debate on cptsd treatment
criteria more inclusive so we don’t miss ppl who need specific diagoniss & treatments since different from ptsd
significant overlap b/w which 2 disorders
BPD & cptsd