Research
Overview
The
TSS Group, under the direction of
Anne P.
DePrince, Ph.D.,
pursues several lines of
research with both children and adults. For example, we
examine alterations in basic cognition (such as attention
and memory) associated with different forms of trauma
exposure and clinical symptoms. In addition, we draw on
cognitive and social-cognitive models to examine risk for
problems post-trauma, such as interpersonal difficulties and
revictimization. Further, our program of research examines
how appraisals of a trauma (e.g., fear, betrayal, shame,
anger) relate to later symptoms.
Below please find a
sampling of current research interests and TSS Group
Projects. Broadly speaking, our research focuses on 4
main themes:
Within
these themes, you will find that we value community-engaged
scholarship. In addition, you can access
full-text
publications on this site.
Appraisals Associated with Trauma Exposure |
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How do the types of appraisals people make in
response to traumas relate to distress?
Posttraumatic distress has been linked to a range of
beliefs and emotions, such as fear, anger, shame,
and self-blame (e.g., Andrews
et al., 2000; Brewin et al., 2000; Feeny et al.,
2000; Filipas & Ullman, 2006; Kaysen et al., 2005).
Over the last few years, we have been developing a
measure of posttraumatic appraisals, guided by the
narratives of trauma survivors (DePrince, Zurbriggen,
Chu, & Combs, under review). Item development began
with interviews of 72 community participants who
described their beliefs, behaviors, and feelings
following a range of trauma exposures (51% reported
on interpersonal traumas). From the interviews, we
generated items that were later tested among
undergraduate
and community adult samples.
We are now using the TAQ to explore differences in
appraisal processes between women who report single
and multiple victimizations. For example, in an
ethnically-diverse community sample,
multiply-victimized women made significantly higher
ratings of appraisals than singly victimized women,
even though both groups were appraising a single
event (Chu & DePrince, 2006). Because
multiply-victimized women are at higher risk of more
severe mental health problems than their peers (Classen
et al., 2005), we are interested in how better
understanding appraisal processes can inform
interventions with this group. In a related
approach, Stephen Shirk and I have applied this
appraisal work to a proposal (now under review at
NIMH) to modify standard cognitive-behavioral
treatment (CBT) for depressed adolescents exposed to
interpersonal trauma. Specifically, we have proposed
to augment the standard CBT approach by addressing
trauma-related appraisal, including self-blame and
shame.
Ann Chu leads a
team meeting with undergraduate research assistants
Related
Ongoing Projects:
Emotion Communication and Understanding in the
Development of Dissociation (Collaborators: Dr. M.
Saylor, Vanderbilt University; A. Chu, DU); Trauma
and Appraisals.
Relevant
Research Funding:
"Development of the Trauma Appraisal Questionnaire",
National Institute of Mental Health.
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Dissociation, Trauma Exposure, and Cognition |
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Although central to the psychology of trauma,
dissociation is one of the least understood
correlates of trauma exposure. Our research group is
interested in both theoretical and empirical
advances in understanding dissociation. In recent
theoretical papers (e.g., DePrince, Chu, &
Visvanathan, 2006; DePrince & Cromer, 2006a;
DePrince & Freyd, 2006), we have addressed
topics related to dissociation’s definition;
function and etiology; and cognitive correlates.
DePrince's recent edited volume (DePrince & Cromer,
2006b) took up these issues with both theoretical
and empirical contributions from international
scholars.
Our empirical work on dissociation has focused on
cognitive correlates, with several studies pointing
to interactions between dissociation and attention.
For example, using the classic
Stroop task, we found that undergraduate
participants who scored high on a dissociation
measure showed less Stroop interference when
dividing their attention and more when
focusing their attention; participants who
scored low on dissociation showed the opposite
pattern (DePrince & Freyd, 1999). This
finding has since been replicated in dissociative
patients relative to both depressed and healthy
controls (Simeon et al., 2006), demonstrating that,
even in a patient population, dissociation can be
associated with relative advantages under some
conditions. In a similar line of research, Elzinga
et al. (2006) reported that dissociative disorders
patients showed less of a decline in
performance at higher levels of the n-back
task (which requires keeping track of multiple
pieces of information at one time) than healthy
controls. Extending this approach to memory tasks,
we found that participants who scored high on a
measure of dissociation tended to recall more
neutral and less trauma-related information under
divided attention conditions, relative to those who
scored low and showed the opposite pattern (DePrince
& Freyd, 2001, 2004; DePrince, Freyd, & Malle, 2007).
We recently extended this work to school-aged
children to examine the developmental assumptions of
and implications for this line of research (DePrince,
Weinzierl, & Combs, in press).
More recently, we have been asking questions
regarding how attention processes relate to
trauma-exposure more generally. In several studies,
we are now examining how executive function (EF)
processes relate to some of the challenges faced by
children exposed to violence. We are interested in
whether EF problems may provide one route via which
maltreated children become at risk for peer,
academic, and behavior problems.
Building on our interests in attention and EF , Dr.
Stephen Shirk and I will begin an initial
evaluation of a modified CBT
for depressed adolescents exposed to interpersonal
trauma. Treatment modifications will include
interventions targeting EF
(e.g., attention control training, mindfulness-based
cognitive interventions) and specific trauma-related appraisals.
Melody Combs
works on Cognition and Trauma projects in our
offices.
Related Ongoing
Projects:
Processing of public service announcements for
intimamte partner abuse (PI: Courtney Mitchell;
Collaborator: Daniel McIntosh, PhD). Processing
mental health information in Latina mothers (PI:
Rheena Pineda).
Relevant
Research Funding:
"Child Maltreatment, Attention and Memory", DU
Professional Research Opportunities for Faculty. "Deployment-focused
development of depression treatment for victimized
youth," National Institute of Mental Health
(1 R34 MH080102-01A1)
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Trauma and Later
Risk |
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Why are people exposed to violence early in life at
risk for later exposure? Why is revictimization
associated with serious health consequences?
Victimization (and revictimization) is an
interpersonal process in which one human being
engages in violence against another. While the
responsibility necessarily lies with the
perpetrator, our recent work has sought to identify
disruptions in the typical processing of
interpersonal information that may be relevant to
understanding revictimization. We are particularly
interested in identifying factors that predict
revictimization to create opportunities to augment
intervention programs.
Revictimization and Social Cognition.
To examine interpersonal correlates of
revictimization, we first examined reasoning
abilities. Deontic reasoning involves reasoning
about "what one may, ought, or may not do in a given
set of circumstances" (Cummins, 1996a, p. 161),
whereas descriptive reasoning involves reasoning
about descriptions of some aspect of the world (Ermer
et al., 2006). Deontic reasoning is critical to
navigating social relationships and institutions
(Cummins, 1996b). Indeed, impoverished deontic
reasoning abilities may place individuals at high
risk for being taken advantage of in relationships
or failing to protect against harm (Stone et al.,
2002). Thus, deontic reasoning performance may be
particularly relevant to the deleterious
interpersonal consequences associated with child
victimization, such as peer victimization in
childhood (e.g., Shields & Cicchetti, 2001) and
physical and/or sexual revictimization in
adolescence and young adulthood (for review, see
Arata, 2002).
We found that young adults who reported histories of
victimizations both before and after age 18
made significantly more errors detecting violations
of if-then deontic rules than their peers; however,
the groups did not differ in descriptive
reasoning abilities (DePrince, 2005).
Interestingly, pathological dissociation explained
unique variance in deontic reasoning performance
after controlling for other trauma-related factors.
Extending this work to children, we developed
stimuli that kept the same basic if-then form as the
conditional reasoning task used with adults (DePrince,
Chu, & Combs, in press). Rules were read to
children who were then asked to solve the problems
using a set of visual pictures (rather than reading
the response choices as in the adult task).
Dissociation explained unique variance in deontic
reasoning errors after controlling for
estimated IQ, socio-economic status, and child age.
Thus, in both children and young adults,
dissociation is associated with specific problems in deontic reasoning, but not global reasoning deficits
(i.e., no relationship to descriptive reasoning
errors). Working memory and processing speed are
implicated in both dissociation (e.g., DePrince &
Weinzierl, 2006) and deontic reasoning (e.g.,
Klaczynski et al., 2004), suggesting a possible
mediator of the dissociation-deontic reasoning link.
We are currently
examining other dimensions of social cognition and
revictimization risk using the lexical decision
making task (DePrince, Combs, & Shanahan, under
review).
Revictimization and Executive Function (EF).
We are interested in whether alterations in EF may
disrupt detection of and response to threat at many
different points in potentially victimizing
situations (not just the ability to detect risk).
Notably, EF problems may disrupt individuals’
abilities to orient and/or maintain attention to and
update information regarding threat in potentially
dangerous situations. For example, impaired
attention may increase risk that women miss threat
cues, increasing risk of revictimization.
Additionally, EF deficits may interfere with women’s
abilities to generate, plan, and initiate behavioral
responses in potentially victimizing situations. In
partnership with the Denver Police Department’s
Victim Assistance Unit, we are currently testing the
impact of EF performance (e.g., working memory,
interference control, etc.) in relation to
revictimization among women recently exposed
to crime.
Revictimization and Psychophysiology.
We also apply psychophsyiological methods to the
problem of revictimization. For example, as part of
her dissertation, Aimee Reichmann-Decker examined
emotional responsiveness and revictimization in
college women (Reichmann-Decker, DePrince, &
McIntosh, 2009). Using an affective
startle paradigm, we found that women who reported
experiences of revictimization startled less to
negative interpersonal images (e.g., images of men
and women fighting) relative to women who reported
childhood-only abuse or no abuse, suggesting that
some early defensive responses may be dampened in
that group. In an ongoing dissertation, Ann Chu is
examining how discrepancies between self-perceptions
of and objective physiological arousal contribute to
interpersonal risk detection problems that have been
observed among revictimized women (Marx et al.,
2001).
Intimate Partner Violence (IPV).
Among the many deleterious outcomes
associated with IPV is risk of future
revictimization. In the face of billions of dollars
spent on IPV annually, cost effective programs that
improve victim safety and criminal legal system
outcomes are sorely needed. The Denver District and
City Attorneys' Offices, Denver Police Department
and several community-based agencies who serve IPV
victims recently began implementation of a
coordinated outreach program to IPV victims.
Specifically, criminal justice and community-based
victim advocates collaborate to make outreach to IPV
victims within 24-72 hours of case inception (i.e.,
arrest) to connect victims as soon as possible to
relevant community and criminal justice resources.
Given limited resources, the rigorous evaluation of
innovative programs, such as this one, is necessary
for advancing coordinated system responses to IPV.
In
collaboration with Drs. Joanne Belknap and Angela
Gover as well as system- and community-based
partners, we are evaluating the effectiveness of the
program. Incorporating several themes from our
larger program of research (e.g., appraisals,
psychological distress, revictimization), we are
testing mediators and moderators of outreach success
on longitudinal outcomes. Specifically, we have
three primary goals for this interdisciplinary
project. First, we will evaluate the effectiveness
of the outreach program in improving criminal
justice and victim safety and empowerment outcomes
for IPV victims using a longitudinal, randomized
control design. Second, the project will identify
victim and case characteristics that mediate and
moderate program effects on victim support for
official action. Third, geospatial analyses will
assess the contribution of spatial variables (such
as distance to and time/effort required to access
services) to outcomes.
Aimee
Reichmann-Decker presents research on
revictimization at our
2005 Returning Research to
the Community event.
Related
Ongoing Projects:
Healthy Adolescent Research Project (HARP), a
randomized control trial comparing two approaches to
revictimization prevention with teen girls in the
child welfare system. To read more, visit our
HARP page. The Triage Project: Outreach
following police-reported intimate partner abuse
(Collaborators: Joanne Belknap, Susan Buckingham,
Angela Gover, Jennifer Labus). Attention processes,
risk detection, and avoidance following intimate
partner violence (PI: Ryan Matlow).
Sample Related
Funding:
"Revictimization Risk & Executive Function in Recent
Female Crime Victims: A Prospective Evaluation",
Professional Research Opportunities for Faculty, DU.
"A Multimethod Approach to Understanding Risk
Detection Following Trauma", NRSA (NIMH) to Ann Chu.
"The Effectiveness of Coordinated Outreach in
Intimate Partner Violence Cases: A Randomized,
Longitudinal Design", National Institute of Justice.
Top |
Ethics in Trauma
Research |
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We are interested in how participants perceive
trauma-related research (e.g.,
Cromer, Freyd, Binder,
DePrince, & Becker-Blease, 2006; DePrince &
Freyd, 2004). Studies of trauma research
participants have demonstrated favorable
benefit-to-cost ratios across a range of sample
(e.g., undergraduate, community, and inpatient
participants) and trauma-exposure (e.g., from
serious injuries to interpersonal violence) types
(Newman & Kaloupek, 2004). Absent in this
literature, though, are studies focusing on the
minimal risk standard; factors that predict
perceptions of benefits; and methodological
influences on perceptions. Further, little research
has been done to examine children’s perceptions of
research.
To examine the
minimal risk standard in trauma research, we
recently developed questions to tap participants’
perceptions of the distress caused by answering
questions about trauma relative to other things
encountered in daily life (DePrince & Freyd, 2004).
More than 500
undergraduate and community participants indicated
that, on average, questions about trauma were
neutral compared to day-to-day experiences. Further,
participants reported that, on average, research
asking about stressful life events is important; and
good relative to the potential for distress.
Under the umbrella
of the NIMH-funded project on appraisals, we evaluated adults’ responses to research
participation across four samples (DePrince &
Chu, 2008), two of whom completed a consent "quiz"
and an interview about responses to traumas. Consistent with previous findings, the
benefit-to-cost ratio was favorable in all four
samples. Importantly, participating in the interview
not only predicted greater perceptions of benefits
(after controlling for demographic and
trauma-related factors), but also predicted greater
benefit-to-cost ratios than completing
questionnaires. Thus, this study provides an
important first step in identifying methodological
factors that can help us maximize benefits while
minimizing costs in trauma research.
Expanding this
work to children, we recently
evaluated perceptions of research participation in a
sample of 7-12 year old community participants who
were reported by their guardians to have been
exposed to no, non-interpersonal, or interpersonal
traumas (Chu, DePrince & Weinzierl, 2008).
Children’s perceptions (including ratings of
costs-relative-to-benefits) did not
vary as a function of trauma exposure (either type
of exposure or number of events). These findings are
important in showing that trauma-exposed children do
not appear more vulnerable in the research process
than their non-exposed peers.
Rheena Pineda
explains our research on ethics at the
2005
Returning Research to the Community event.
Related
Ongoing Projects:
Women's responses to participating in research on
intimate partner abuse (Collaborators: Claire
Hebenstreit, Joanne Belknap).
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Why the Utah
arch above? The arch is an image that reminds us of
the connections between research, practice and human
experience that guide our research. And
Canyonlands National Park
is one of Anne's most favorite
places!
Last
updated 30Oct2010 |
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