Trauma Severity and Defensive Emotion-Regulation Reactions as Predictors of Forgetting Childhood Trauma

Authors

Bette L. Bottoms, The University of Illinois at ChicagoFollow
Cynthia J. Najdowski, University at Albany, State University of New YorkFollow
Michelle A. Epstein, The University of Illinois at Chicago
Matthew J. Badanek, The University of Illinois at Chicago

Author ORCID Identifier

Cynthia J. Najdowski:https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3624-9188

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2012

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1080/15299732.2011.641497

Abstract

Using a retrospective survey, we studied a sample of 1679 college women to determine whether reports of prior forgetting of sexual abuse, physical abuse, and other traumas could be explained by trauma severity and individual differences in the use of defensive emotion-regulation reactions (i.e., repressive coping, dissociation, and fantasy proneness). Among victims of physical abuse (but not sexual abuse or other types of trauma), those who experienced severe abuse and used defensive reactions were sometimes more likely to report temporary forgetting of abuse, but other times less likely to report forgetting. We also found unanticipated main effects of trauma severity on temporary forgetting. Our results provide an understanding of victims’ experiences of forgetting by demonstrating the importance of considering unique effects of trauma type, different aspects of trauma severity, and victims’ defensive reactions to trauma.

Comments

This is the Author's Accepted Manuscript. The Version of Record can be found here: Bottoms, B. L., Najdowski, C. J., Epstein, M. A., & Badanek, M. J. (2012). Trauma severity and defensive emotion-regulation reactions as predictors of forgetting childhood trauma. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 13(3), 291-310. https://doi.org/10.1080/15299732.2011.641497

Recommended Citation

Bottoms, Bette L.; Najdowski, Cynthia J.; Epstein, Michelle A.; and Badanek, Matthew J., "Trauma Severity and Defensive Emotion-Regulation Reactions as Predictors of Forgetting Childhood Trauma" (2012). Psychology Faculty Scholarship. 42.
https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/psychology_fac_scholar/42