Posttraumatic stress symptoms, dissociation, and alexithymia in an Italian sample of flood victims

Abstract

Giuseppe Craparo,1 Alessio Gori,2 Elvira Mazzola,1 Irene Petruccelli,1 Monica Pellerone,1 Giuseppe Rotondo3 1Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, Kore University of Enna, Enna, Italy; 2Department of Psychology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy; 3Department of Psychology, Unit of Psychotraumatology, San Raffaele Giglio Hospital of Cefalù, Cefalù, Italy Background: Several studies have demonstrated a significant association between dissociation and posttraumatic symptoms. A dissociative reaction during a traumatic event may seem to predict the later development of posttraumatic stress symptoms. Moreover, several researchers also observed an alexithymic condition in a variety of traumatized samples.Methods: A total of 287 flood victims (men =159, 55.4%; women =128, 44.6%) with an age range of 17–21 years (mean =18.33; standard deviation =0.68) completed the following: Impact of Event Scale–Revised, Dissociative Experiences Scale II, Twenty-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale, and Peritraumatic Dissociative Experiences Questionnaire.Results: We found significant correlations among all variables. Linear regression showed that peritraumatic dissociation plays a mediator role between alexithymia, dissociation, and posttraumatic stress symptoms.Conclusion: Our results seem to confirm the significant roles of both dissociation and alexithymia for the development of posttraumatic symptoms. Keywords: peritraumatic dissociation, posttraumatic symptoms, PTSD