The effect of attempted thought suppression in acute stress disorder.
Attempted suppression of traumatic memories was investigated in survivors of motor vehicle accidents with acute stress disorder (ASD; n = 24) and without ASD (n = 24). Participants monitored their trauma-related thoughts for three 5-minute periods. In Period 1, participants were instructed to think about anything. For Period 2, participants were administered suppression or non-suppression instructions relating to thoughts of the trauma. In Period 3, participants were again instructed to think about anything. ASD participants reported higher ratings of anxiety, frequency of trauma-related thoughts, and attempted suppression of trauma-related thoughts than non-ASD participants. Participants who were given suppression instructions demonstrated a delayed increase in trauma-related thoughts in the period subsequent to suppression.
Harvey
A G
AG
School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
Bryant
R A
RA
D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000523:psychology*; D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D006801:Humans; D009770:Obsessive Behavior / Q000503:physiopathology; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology*; D013850:Thinking / Q000502:physiology*; D014836:Volition / Q000502:physiology*