Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Relationship Among Personality Variables, Exposure to Traumatic Events, and Severity of Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms

  • Published:
Journal of Traumatic Stress

Abstract

In examining predictors of posttraumatic stress, researchers have focused on trauma intensity and devoted less attention to other variables. This study examined how personality and demographic variables are related to the likelihood of experiencing a trauma, and to the severity of posttraumatic symptoms in a sample of 402 college students reporting a wide range of trauma. Elevations in antisocial and borderline traits were significant predictors of retraumatization, accounting for 12% of the variance. Personality variables and trauma intensity were significant predictors of PTSD severity, accounting for 43% of the variance. Neuroticism interacted with trauma intensity in predicting Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) severity. Among persons low in Neuroticism, there was a modest trauma intensity–PTSD relationship, whereas among persons high in neuroticism there was a strong relationship.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • American Psychiatric Association (1987). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (Rev. 3rd ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aptekar, L., & Boore, J. (1990). The emotional effects of disaster on children:Areviewof the literature. International Journal of Mental Health, 19, 77–90.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bouchard, T. J., & McGue, M. (1990). Genetic and rearing environmental influences on adult personality: An analysis of adopted twins reared apart. Journal of Personality, 58, 263–292.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bouter, L. M., Knipschild, P. G., Feij, J. A., & Volovics, A. (1988). Sensation seeking and injury risk in downhill skiing. Personality and Individual Differences, 9, 667–673.

    Google Scholar 

  • Breslau, N., Davis, G. C., & Andreski, P. (1995). Risk factors for PTSD-related traumatic events: A prospective analysis. American Journal of Psychiatry, 152, 529–535.

    Google Scholar 

  • Breslau, N., Davis, G. C., Andreski, P., & Peterson, E. (1991). Traumatic events and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in an urban population of young adults. Archives of General Psychiatry, 48, 216–222.

    Google Scholar 

  • Casella, L., & Motta, R.W. (1990). Comparison of characteristics ofVietnam veterans with and without Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Psychological Reports, 67, 595–605.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chemtob, C., Roitblat, H. L., Hamada, R. S., Carlson, J. G., & Twentyman, C. T. (1988). A cognitive action theory of posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 2, 253–275.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chu, J. A. (1992). The revictimization of adult women with histories of childhood abuse. Journal of Psychotherapy Practice and Research, 1, 259–269.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davidson, J., Kudler, H., & Smith, R. (1987). Personality in chronic post-traumatic stress disorder: A study of the Eysenck inventory. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 1, 295–300.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davidson, J., & Smith, R. (1990). Traumatic experiences in psychiatric outpatients. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 3, 459–475.

    Google Scholar 

  • Donovan, B. S., Padin-Rivera, E., Dowd, T., & Blake, D. D. (1996). Childhood factors and war zone stress in chronic PTSD. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 9, 361–368.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eysenck, H. J. (1982). Superfactors P, E, and N in a comprehensive factor space. In H. J. Eysenck (Ed.), Personality, genetics and behavior: Selected papers (pp. 85–90). New York: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eysenck, H. J. (1967). The biological basis of personality. Springfield: C. C. Thomas.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eysenck, S. B. G., Eysenck, H. J., & Barrett, P. (1985). A revised version of the psychoticism scale. Personality and Individual Differences, 6, 21–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foa, E. B., Steketee, G., & Rothbaum, B. O. (1989). Behavioral/cognitive conceptualizations of posttraumatic stress disorder. Behavior Therapy, 20, 155–176.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fontana, A., & Rosenheck, R. (1993). A causal model of the etiology of war-related PTSD. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 6, 475–500.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foy, D. W., Sipprelle, R. C., Rueger, D. B., & Carroll, E. M. (1984). Etiology of posttraumatic stress disorder in Vietnam veterans: Analysis of premilitary, military, and combat exposure influences. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 52, 79–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Funk, S. C. (1992). Hardiness: A review of theory and research. Health Psychology, 11, 335–345.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gough, H. G., & Peterson, D. R. (1952). The identification and measurement of predispositional factors in crime and delinquency. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 16, 207–212.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gridley, M. C. (1990). Psychopathic vs. nonpsychopathic thrill seeking. Psychology: A Journal of Human Behavior, 27, 18–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Helzer, J. E., Robins, L. N., & McEvoy, L. (1987). Post-traumatic stress disorder in the general population: Findings of the epidemiologic catchment area survey. The New England Journal of Medicine, 317, 1630–1634.

    Google Scholar 

  • Helzer, J. E., Robins, L. N., Wish, E., & Hesselbrock, M. (1979). Depression in Viet Nam veterans and civilian controls. American Journal of Psychiatry, 136, 526–529.

    Google Scholar 

  • Horowitz, M. J. (1975). Intrusive and repetitive thoughts after experimental stress. Archives of General Psychiatry, 32, 1457–1463.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hurt, S.W., Hyler, S. E., Frances, A., Clarkin, J. F., & Brent, R. (1984). Assessing borderline personality with self-report, clinical interview, or semistructured interview. American Journal of Psychiatry, 141, 1228–1231.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hyler, S. E., & Rieder, R. O. (1987). PDQ-R: Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-Revised. New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hyler, S. E., Rieder, R. O., Williams, J. B., Spitzer, R. L., Lyons, M., & Hendler, J. (1989). A comparison of clinical and self-report diagnoses of DSM-III personality disorders in 552 patients. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 30, 170–178.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keane, T. M., Fairbank, J. A., Caddell, J. M., Simering, R. T., & Bender, M. E. (1985). A behavioral approach to assessing and treating posttraumatic stress disorder in Vietnam veterans. In C. R. Figley (Ed.), Trauma and its wake: The study and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (pp. 257–294). New York: Brunner/Mazel.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keane, T. M., Scott, W. O., Chavoya, G. A., Lamparski, D. M., & Fairbank, J. A. (1985). Social support in Vietnam veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder: A comparative analysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 53, 95–102.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kessler, R. C., Sonnega, A., Bromet, E., Hughes, M., & Nelson, C. B. (1995). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in the national comorbidity survey. Archives of General Psychiatry, 52, 1048–1060.

    Google Scholar 

  • King, D. W., King, L. A., Foy, D. W., & Gudanowski, D. M. (1996). Prewar factors in combat-related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Structural equation modeling with a national sample of female and male Vietnam veterans. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64, 520–531.

    Google Scholar 

  • King, D. W., King, L. A., Gudanowski, D. M., & Vreven, D. L. (1995). Alternative representations of war zone stressors: Relationships to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in male and female Vietnam veterans. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 104, 184–196.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kilpatrick, D. G., Saunders, B. E., Amick-McMullan, A., Best, C. L., Veronen, L. J., & Resnick, H. S. (1989). Victim and crime factors associated with the development of crime-related post-traumatic stress disorder. Behavior Therapy, 20, 199–214.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kreitler, S., & Kreitler, H. (1988). Trauma and anxiety: The cognitive approach. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 1, 35–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kulka, R. A., Schlenger, W. E., Fairbank, J. A., Hough, R. L., Jordan, B. K. Marmar, C. R., & Weiss, D. S. (1990). Trauma and the Vietnam war generation: Report of findings from the national Vietnam veterans readjustment study. New York: Brunner/Mazel.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lauterbach, D., & Vrana, S. (1996). Three studies on the reliability and validity of a self-report measure of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Assessment, 3, 17–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lauterbach, D., Vrana, S., King, D., & King, L. (1997). Psychometric properties of the civilian version of the Mississippi PTSD scale. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 10, 499–514.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, K. A., Vaillant, G. E., Torrey, W. C., & Elder, G. H. (1995). A 50-year prospective study of the psychological sequelae of World War II combat. American Journal of Psychiatry, 152, 516–522.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leibman, F. H. (1992). Childhood abandonment/adult rage: The root of violent criminal acts. American Journal of Forensic Psychology, 10, 57–64.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lyons, M. J., Goldberg, J., Eisen, S. A., True, W. R., Tsuang, M. T., Meyer, J. M., & Henderson, W. G. (1993). Do genes influence trauma exposure?: A twin study of combat. American Journal of Medical Genetics, 48, 22–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCranie, E.W., Hyer, L. A., Boudewyns, P. A., & Woods, M. G. (1992). Negative parenting behavior, combat exposure and PTSD symptom severity: Test of a person-event interaction model. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 180, 431–438.

    Google Scholar 

  • McFarlane, A. C. (1988a). The longitudinal course of posttraumatic morbidity: The range of outcomes and their predictors. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 176(1), 30–39.

    Google Scholar 

  • McFarlane, A. C. (1988b). The aetiology of post-traumatic stress disorders following a natural disaster. British Journal of Psychiatry, 152, 116–121.

    Google Scholar 

  • Norris, F. H. (1992). Epidemiology of trauma: Frequency and impact of different potentially traumatic events on different demographic groups. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 60, 409–418.

    Google Scholar 

  • Resnick, H. S., Foy, D. W., Donahoe, C. P., & Miller, E. N. (1989). Antisocial behavior and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Vietnam veterans. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 45, 861–866.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rowe, D. C. (1983). Biometrical genetic models of self-reported delinquent behavior: A twin study. Behavioral Genetics, 13, 473–489.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schalling, D. (1978). Psychopathy-related personality variables and the psychophysiology of socialization. In R.D. Hare and D. Schalling (Eds.), Psychopathic behaviour: Approaches to research (pp. 96–102). Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schnurr, P. P., Friedman, M. J., & Rosenberg, S. D. (1993). Premilitary MMPI scores as predictors of combat-related PTSD symptoms. American Journal of Psychiatry, 150, 479–483.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schnurr, P. P., & Vielhauer, M. J. (2000). Personality as a risk factor for PTSD. In R. Yehuda (Ed.), Risk factors for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (pp. 191–222). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simons, L. E., King, D. W., & King, L. A. (1991, May). One-tour versus two-tour Vietnam veterans: profile of military and extramilitary characteristics. Paper presented at the meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.

  • Sutker, P. B., Davis, J. M., Uddo, M., & Ditta, S. R. (1995). War zone stress, personal resources and PTSD in Persian Gulf War returnees. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 104, 444–452.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (1989). Using multivariate statistics (2nd ed.). New York: Harper Collins.

    Google Scholar 

  • van der Kolk, B. A. (1988). The trauma spectrum: The interaction of biological and social events in the genesis of the trauma response. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 1, 273–291.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vernberg, E. M., LaGreca, A. M., Silverman, W. K., & Prinstein, M. J. (1996). Prediction of posttraumatic stress symptoms in children after hurricane Andrew. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 105, 237–248.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vrana, S., & Lauterbach, D. (1994). Prevalence of traumatic events and posttraumatic psychological symptoms in a non-clinical sample of college students. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 7, 298–302.

    Google Scholar 

  • Widiger, T. A., & Weissman, M. M. (1991). Epidemiology of borderline personality disorder. Hospital and Community Psychiatry, 42, 1015–1020.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolfe, V. V., Gentile, C., & Wolfe, D. A. (1989). The impact of sexual abuse on children: A PTSD formulation. Behavior Therapy, 20, 215–228.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolfgang, M., Lichtermann, D., Klingler, T., Heun, R., & Hallmayer, J. (1992). Prevalence of personality disorders (DSM-III-R) in the community. Journal of Personality Disorders, 6, 187–196.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zuckerman, M. (1979). Sensation seeking: Beyond the optimal level of arousal. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zuckerman, M., Bone, R. N., Neary, R., Mangelsdorff, D., & Brustman, B. (1972). What is the sensation seeker? Personality trait and experience correlates of the Sensation Seeking Scales. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 39, 308–321.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychology Department, Northwestern State University, Natchitoches, Louisiana, 71497

    Dean Lauterbach

  2. Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia

    Scott Vrana

Authors
  1. Dean Lauterbach
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Scott Vrana
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

About this article

Cite this article

Lauterbach, D., Vrana, S. The Relationship Among Personality Variables, Exposure to Traumatic Events, and Severity of Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms. J Trauma Stress 14, 29–45 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007831430706

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007831430706

Search

Navigation