Disgust and imaginal exposure to memories of sexual trauma: Implications for the treatment of posttraumatic stress.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Emerging evidence identifies disgust as a common and persistent reaction following sexual victimization that is linked to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Importantly, evidence suggests that compared with fear, disgust may be less responsive to repeated exposure, which may have implications for the treatment of PTSD. The current study sought to fill a gap in the existing literature by examining reductions in sexual trauma cue-elicited disgust and anxiety upon repeated imaginal exposure.

Method

Seventy-two women with a history of sexual victimization completed a single laboratory-based session that involved repeated imaginal exposure to idiographic disgust- and fear-focused sexual trauma scripts.

Results

Results demonstrated that although anxiety and dis

SUBMITTER: Badour CL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5014431 | biostudies-literature | 2016 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature