Betrayal Trauma: Associations With Psychological and Physical Symptoms in Young Adults
Abstract
Betrayal trauma, or trauma perpetrated by someone with whom a victim is close, is strongly associated with a range of negative psychological and physical health outcomes. However, few studies have examined associations between different forms of trauma and emotional and physical symptoms. The present study compared betrayal trauma to other forms of trauma as predictors of young adults' psychological and physical symptoms, and explored potential mediators. A total of 185 university undergraduate students completed the Brief Betrayal Trauma Survey, the Trauma Symptom Checklist, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, and the Pennebaker Inventory of Limbic Languidness. For each set of symptoms, simultaneous multiple regressions assessed the relative contributions of low versus high betrayal trauma to psychological and physical health reports. Structural equation models examined traumatic stress symptoms and alexithymia as mediators of the relationship between betrayal trauma and physical health symptoms. A total of 151 participants (82%) reported exposure to at least 1 of 11 forms of trauma queried (M = 2.08, SD = 1.94); 96 participants (51.9%) reported at least 1 betrayal trauma. Traumas characterized by high betrayal predicted alexithymia, anxiety, depression, dissociation, physical health complaints, and the number of days students reported being sick during the past month, whereas other traumas did not. Structural equation modeling revealed that traumatic stress symptoms and alexithy…
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Traumas characterized as high in betrayal are associated with more depressive symptoms, dissociative symptoms, alexithymia, and physical health problems, among other adverse outcomes.
“Studies have also found that traumas characterized as high in betrayal are associated with more depressive symptoms, dissociative symptoms, alexithymia, and physical health problems, among other adverse outcomes (e.g. Gobin & Freyd, 2009; Goldsmith, Freyd, & DePrince, 2012; Lawyer, Ruggiero, Resnick, Kilpatrick, & Saunders, 2006; Marriott, Lewis, & Gobin, 2016; Martin, Comer, DePrince, & Freyd, 20”
From The association between social support and posttraumatic stress symptoms among survivors of betrayal trauma: a meta-analysis (2021) · cites this paper as Goldsmith, Freyd, & DePrince, 2012
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“…such as the dysregulation of stress systems and long-term neurological alterations related to betrayal trauma (Cicchetti, 2002; De Bellis, 2001; Kaufman & Charney, 2001) may contribute to greater stress reactivity, difficulties in noticing, interpreting, and processing physical and emotional…”
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Dangerous Safe Havens: Institutional Betrayal Exacerbates Sexual Trauma
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“Another reason could be the complexities surrounding BT (Goldsmith et al., 2011) and how this affects all layers of one’s existence, past, present and future.”
- Authors
- Goldsmith, R. E., Freyd, J. J., & DePrince, A. P.
- Affiliations
- Rush University Medical Center (US)
- University of Oregon (US)
- University of Denver (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Interpersonal Violence
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2012-02
- Volume
- 27
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 547-567
- ISSN
- 0886-2605 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-6518
- OpenAlex
- W2136991971
- Cited by
- 182
- References
- 8
- Citations by year
- 2026: 15 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 6.55
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Interpersonal Violence (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Rush University
- University of Oregon
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute of Mental Health (T32MH020012, 5 T32 MH20012-04)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
- Keywords
- betrayal trauma, trauma exposure, traumatic stress symptoms, alexithymia, somatic symptoms, psychological symptoms, anxiety, depression, dissociation, young adults, university students, mediators
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Affective Symptoms, Anxiety, Female, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Psychological Tests, Stress, Psychological, Students, Universities, Stress Disorders, Traumatic, Young Adult
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