Early Linguistic Markers of Trauma-Specific Processing Predict Post-trauma Adjustment.

ABSTRACT: Identifying early predictors for psychiatric disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is crucial for effective treatment and prevention efforts. Obtaining such predictors is challenging and methodologically limited, for example by individuals' distress, arousal, and reduced introspective ability. We investigated the predictive power of language-based, implicit markers of psychological processes (N = 163) derived from computerized text-analysis of trauma and control narratives provided within 18 days post-trauma. Trauma narratives with fewer cognitive processing words (indicating less cognitive elaboration), more death-related words (indicating perceived threat to life), and more first-person singular pronouns (indicating self-immersed processing) predicted greater P

SUBMITTER: Kleim B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6290715 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature