No buffer effect of perceived social support for people exposed to violence during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional community study

On the path to recovery: traumatic stress research during the COVID-19 pandemic 2021-2023

This Special Issue of the European Journal of Psychotraumatology (EJPT) presents 51 articles published between 2021 and 2023 and follows the Special Issue on pandemic-related traumatic stress research published in 2021 (O'Donnell, M. L., & Greene, T. [2021]. Understanding the mental health impacts of COVID-19 through a trauma lens. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 12(1), 1982502). Research on traumatic stress during the pandemic has cast the spotlight on vulnerable populations and groups, notably front-line healthcare workers; people faced with major losses including the deaths of loved ones; those who personally survived debilitating and often life-threatening viral infection; and students who were isolated and experienced profound delays in their education, relationships, and emerging independence. The papers in this collection underscore the associations between COVID-19 related stressors and a plethora of adverse mental health sequelae, including posttraumatic stress reactions, and draw attention to the ubiquity of grief and moral injury and their wide-ranging and detrimental impact. Currently, there is a paucity of evidence on interventions to enhance resources, self-efficacy, and hope for affected groups and individuals through societal, organisational, and healthcare systems; however early research on the prevention of COVID-related traumatic stress disorders provides a basis for both hope and preparedness for the future.

Drug-facilitated sexual assault, impaired trauma memory, and implications for mental health treatment

BACKGROUND

Sexual assault (SA) is a highly prevalent global public health problem and a robust predictor of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance use disorder (SUD), and suicidality. A large percentage are drug or alcohol facilitated (DFSA), impairing trauma memory and affecting the application of evidence-based treatments. Despite these problems, few have investigated DFSA-specific mental health (MH) needs.

OBJECTIVE

Goals of this study were (1) to identify psychological sequelae characterizing DFSA towards explaining why symptoms have been treatment-refractory, comparing survivors with involuntary substance ingestion (forced, covert: DFSA-I), voluntary ingestion (DFSA-V), and non-DFSA; and (2) to determine how impaired trauma memory relates to the development of PTSD and depression symptoms.

METHOD

Data from a retrospective chart review of 74 adults receiving SA MH services at an outpatient trauma center are presented. The sample includes a 2-year cohort seen acutely at an urban rape treatment center. The study is one of the first to examine therapy records beyond case studies for DFSA. Logistic, Poisson, and negative binomial regression analyses of quantitative data and qualitative thematic analysis of trauma cognitions and treatment foci were conducted.

RESULTS

DFSA-V had five times greater odds of SUD, and notable substance-related self-blame compared to DFSA-I. DFSA-I had prominent relationship distress and self-blame for missing danger of perpetrator drugging. Survivors with impaired trauma memory had significantly fewer hyper-arousal and overall PTSD symptoms, and specifically less hypervigilance. No differences were found in re-experiencing symptoms.

CONCLUSION

Impaired trauma memory is common in DFSA and is associated with fewer baseline hyper-arousal and overall PTS. Despite this, DFSA issues including re-experiencing symptoms that are particularly distressing without the ability to cognitively connect the intrusions contribute to increased treatment needs. Impaired memory limits the application of evidence-based treatments, and collectively these findings call for the development of trauma-specific treatment protocols to enhance recovery for DFSA survivors.

HIGHLIGHTS

Survivors of drug-facilitated sexual assault have prominent PTSD including reexperiencing, though trauma memory may not be encoded. • Those absent trauma memory have less hyperarousal, but DFSA complications explain why it is treatment refractory and inform treatment development.

Celebrating 10 years of the European Journal of Psychotraumatology

It is 10 years ago that the European Journal of Psychotraumatology (EJPT) was launched. This was celebrated with a one day symposium on 1 February 2021 with all EJPT's editors presenting on the state of the art developments in the field of psychotraumatology. The European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ESTSS) is proud to have all these speakers together sharing their knowledge on a range of topics within the field of psychotraumatology, from genetics to clinical practice. In this editorial the programme with the presentations is presented, including links to both to short summaries of the lectures and to the online session itself. In line with the Open Access format of the journal, access to the symposium content is free of charge and thus available to all around the world without barriers.