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Cited by 347Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ResearchPsychosomatic Disorders and Their TreatmentsPsychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research

Objective assessment of peritraumatic dissociation: psychophysiological indicators

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Michael G. Griffin, Patricia A. Resick, Mindy B. Mechanic·1997·American Journal of Psychiatry
DOI 10.1176/ajp.154.8.1081PMC PMC2958429
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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to investigate psychophysiological changes associated with peritraumatic dissociation in female victims of recent rape and to assess the relation between these changes and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). METHOD: Eighty-five rape victims were examined in a laboratory setting within 2 weeks after the rape, and measures of heart rate, skin conductance, and nonspecific movement were collected. Self-report indexes of reactions to the trauma and interviews to assess PTSD symptoms and peritraumatic dissociation were also completed. On the basis of their scores on the Peritraumatic Dissociation Index, the subjects were classified as having low or high levels of dissociation. RESULTS: Items from the index exhibited good internal consistency, and scores were approximately normally distributed. Individuals in the high peritraumatic dissociation group showed a significantly different pattern of physiological responses from those of the low dissociation group. In general, there was a suppression of autonomic physiological responses in the high dissociation group. This group also contained a larger proportion of subjects (94%) identified as meeting PTSD symptom criteria. Also, among the high dissociation subjects there was a discrepancy between self-reports of distress and objective physiological indicators of distress in the laboratory setting. CONCLUSIONS: The results provide preliminary support for the idea that there is a dissociative subtype of persons with PTSD symptoms who exhibit diminished physiological reactivity. The results also underscore the importance of assessing dissociative symptoms in trauma survivors.

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  • Descending projections via the ventral medulla or possibly directly to motor neurons of the ventral horn of the spinal cord mediate the immobility and loss of the righting reflex that characterize tonic immobility.

    “Further downstream, descending projections either via the ventral medulla98 or possibly directly to the motor neurons of the ventral horn of the spinal cord99 mediate the immobility and loss of the righting reflex§§§ that characterize tonic immobility.”

    From Fear and the Defense Cascade (2015) · cites this paper as [98]

  • A review of available data suggests that tonic immobility, peritraumatic dissociation, and dissociative PTSD may be mediated by a shared neural network involving amygdala deactivation, absence of sympathetically mediated arousal symptoms, parasympathetic activation, and analgesia.

    “A review of available data suggests that tonic immobility, peritraumatic dissociation, and dissociative PTSD may be mediated by a shared neural network involving amygdala deactivation, absence of sympathetically mediated arousal symptoms (decreased skin conductance and an absence of heart rate increases), parasympathetic activation (a decrease in heart rate in some studies, presumably reflecting a”

    From Fear and the Defense Cascade (2015) · cites this paper as [124]

  • Previous reports found depressed skin conductance and heart rate when recalling a trauma among rape victims high in peri-traumatic dissociation.

    “These findings are consistent with previous reports of an absence of heart-rate increase in response to traumatic scripts among patients with PTSD and comorbid dissociative symptoms (Lanius et al., 2002), and of depressed skin conductance and heart rate when recalling a trauma among rape victims high in peri-traumatic dissociation (Griffin et al., 1997).”

    From A review of the relation between dissociation, memory, executive functioning and social cognition in military members and civilians with neuropsychiatric conditions (2016) · cites this paper as Griffin et al., 1997

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Authors
Griffin, M. G., Resick, P. A., & Mechanic, M. B.
Affiliations
University of Missouri–St. Louis (US)
ORCID
Venue
American Journal of Psychiatry
Publisher
American Psychiatric Association Publishing
Published
1997-08-01
Volume
154
Issue
8
Pages
1081-1088
ISSN
  • 0002-953X (ISSN-L)
  • 1535-7228
DOI
10.1176/ajp.154.8.1081
PMC
PMC2958429
OpenAlex
W2108477383
Cited by
347
References
27
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 18 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 15 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 17
FWCI
9.49
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • American Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH046992, MH46992)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research
Keywords
peritraumatic dissociation, post-traumatic stress disorder, rape victims, psychophysiological indicators, heart rate, skin conductance, dissociative subtype of PTSD
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Dissociative Disorders, Female, Galvanic Skin Response, Heart Rate, Humans, Life Change Events, Middle Aged, Personality Inventory, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Surveys and Questionnaires, Rape, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Reproducibility of Results

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