Empathy and Interpersonal Style: A Mediational Model of Secondary Traumatic Stress Symptomology Following 9/11

The current study examined the traumatic impact of the September 11, 2001 terrorist strikes on a normal population of 228 college students living in Louisville, Kentucky. Personality correlates including emotional empathy, interpersonal style, and coping style were assessed as predictors of psycholo...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of aggression, maltreatment & trauma maltreatment & trauma, 2005-08, Vol.11 (4), p.1-28
Main Authors: Woodward, Lucinda E., Murrell, Stanley A., Bettler, Robert F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
9/11
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Anxiety disorders. Neuroses
Biological and medical sciences
Medical sciences
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Secondary traumatic stress disorder
September 11
STSD
vicarious traumatization
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The current study examined the traumatic impact of the September 11, 2001 terrorist strikes on a normal population of 228 college students living in Louisville, Kentucky. Personality correlates including emotional empathy, interpersonal style, and coping style were assessed as predictors of psychological distress during this period. Structural equation modeling was used to test both a four-factor and five-factor interpersonal state-mediator and a four-factor interpersonal trait-predictor model of secondary traumatic stress. Although both four-factor models demonstrated non-significant chi square values, the four-factor interpersonal trait-predictor model was superior in its parsimony and fit. Implications for the mediational role of interpersonal style in developing a clinical understanding of secondary traumatic stress and potential treatments for this disorder are discussed.
ISSN:1092-6771
1545-083X
DOI:10.1300/J146v11n04_01