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Cited by 131Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ResearchChild Abuse and TraumaPsychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research

Betrayal trauma and gender differences in posttraumatic stress

Tang, Sharon Shin Shin, Freyd, Jennifer J.·2012·Psychological Trauma Theory Research Practice and Policy
DOI 10.1037/a0025765
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Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to examine the role of betrayal trauma in explaining why women report higher rates of posttraumatic stress than men. Betrayal trauma theory posits that cognitive dissociation is adaptive when trauma occurs at the hands of a caregiver (Freyd, 1996). Betrayal trauma has also been linked to poorer outcomes in mental health, including depression, anxiety, and posttrau-matic stress disorder (PTSD) (DePrince & Freyd, 2002; Goldsmith, 2004). DePrince and Freyd (2002) proposed that the increased frequency with which females experience betrayals accounts in part for the correspondingly higher rates of PTSD and dissociative disorders among women. Thus, it is possible that closeness to the perpetrator acts as a partial mediator of gender differences in prevalence rates (Goldberg & Freyd, 2006). Using an online survey with a college sample (n 1,041) and a community sample (n 199), the findings of the current study confirmed prior research that traumas high in betrayal (e.g., abuse by a close other) are more strongly associated with symptoms of posttraumatic stress than traumas lower in betrayal (e.g., natural disaster or abuse by someone not close to the victim). Women also reported higher rates of depression, anxiety, and reexperiencing symptoms of PTSD, but not avoidance and hyperarousal symptoms. The hypothesis that betrayal trauma would mediate the association between gender and PTSD reexperiencing symptoms was supported by statistical significance, but the effect was not substantial.

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  • Perhaps as a result of being more commonly exposed to betrayal trauma, women may be more likely develop self-doubts that lowers their self-esteem.

    “For example, perhaps as a result of being more commonly exposed to betrayal trauma, women may be more likely develop self-doubts that lowers their self-esteem (151).”

    From Where Sex Meets Gender: How Sex and Gender Come Together to Cause Sex Differences in Mental Illness (2022) · cites this paper as [151]

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Related

Authors
Tang, S. S. S., & Freyd, J. J.
Affiliations
University of Oregon (US)
ORCID
Freyd, Jennifer J.
Venue
Psychological Trauma Theory Research Practice and Policy
Publisher
American Psychological Association (APA)
Published
2012-09
Volume
4
Issue
5
Pages
469-478
ISSN
  • 1942-9681 (ISSN-L)
  • 1942-969X
DOI
10.1037/a0025765
OpenAlex
W2110488880
Cited by
130
References
41
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 55 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 1
FWCI
5.17
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
Psychological Trauma Theory Research Practice and Policy (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research
Keywords
betrayal trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, gender differences, cognitive dissociation, caregiver abuse, re-experiencing symptoms, depression, anxiety, hyperarousal, avoidance, university students, community sample

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