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The Influence of Distressing Information on Memory in Acute Stress Disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 May 2006

Michelle L. Moulds
Affiliation:
The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Richard A. Bryant
Affiliation:
The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

Abstract

Acute stress disorder (ASD) is purportedly characterized by impaired encoding of aversive material. In this study ASD, trauma-exposed non-ASD, and non-traumatized control participants (N = 45) were administered intermixed presentations of either distressing (i.e. disfigured) or neutral faces. For each presentation, two words were presented centrally to the image and two were presented peripherally. Participants were subsequently administered recall and recognition tests for the presented words. Participants recalled more words presented centrally to neutral images than those presented centrally to trauma images. Dissociative tendencies were negatively correlated with recognition of words centrally presented with distressing stimuli. These findings are consistent with the proposal that dissociative reactions are associated with impaired memory for distress-related information.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
2006 British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies

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