Skip to main content
ABCT 2024 58th Annual Convention Main banner
Psychology Tools Ad
Final Program


Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.
Presentation Icons
Recorded Session
Recorded Session
Ticketed Session
Ticketed Session
Back
ViewAttendees 3

Symposia

Comorbidity

From Synapses to Survival: PTSD, Borderline Personality, and the Disability of Chronic Pain – A Deep Dive into Neurobiology, Clinical Strategies, and the Lived Experiences of Patients

3 - (SYM 112) What Can Posttraumatic Cognitions and Non-suicidal Self-injury Tell Us About the Relationships Between Worry and Health Complaints in Veteran Military Sexual Trauma Survivors?

Sunday, November 17, 2024
8:30 AM – 9:30 AM EST
Location: Grand Ballroom B, Level 5, Marriott Downtown
Abstract Body

Emerging literature suggests that Military Sexual Trauma (MST) may be uniquely associated with worry, negative posttraumatic cognitions, and somatic symptoms, like pain. Despite the relationships between somatic and mental health concerns, research is limited regarding these relationships among those seeking mental health services. Worry and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) have been theoretically (e.g., Emotional Cascade Theory) and empirically linked though relationships to somatic concerns among Veterans exposed to MST is unclear. As NSSI is posited to externalize negative emotions and raise tolerance to pain, we hypothesized NSSI history would moderate the relationship between worry and the level of reported pain. Moreover, certain NPCs (i.e., ideas about the self) have been found to partially mediate the relationship between Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and pain interference. Thus, we proposed NPCs would moderate this relationship. The current study examines the relationship between worry, being bothered by pain/somatic symptoms, and proposed moderating variables (i.e., NPCs and NSSI) in a sample of 82 Veterans presenting for specialty MST-related mental health treatment at a Midwestern VA. Veterans completed a semi-structured interview detailing NSSI and MST history and measures including the Patient Health Questionnaire 15 and the Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory (PTCI). Preliminary analyses identified a significant main effect of worry on being bothered by pain/somatic symptoms over the past month. Subsequently, we evaluated NSSI and PTCI scores as potential moderators of this relationship. Contrary to the hypothesis, NSSI did not significantly moderate the relationship between worry and pain in MST survivors. However, we did observe the PTCI significantly moderated worry and somatic symptom relationships (Model F = 16.83, p < .001, R2 = 33). Further, we found a significant interaction effect of worry and PTCI with pain. Specifically, among those with high NPCs, somatic complaints were highest, irrespective of worry severity. Among those with lower NPCs, high worry was more directly associated with increased bothersomeness of somatic complaints.