Psychological Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Biased probability estimates toward future traumatic events in trauma-exposed Hispanic young adults

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

8-3-2024

Abstract

Trauma is an extreme event that offers us clues about individual differences in cognitive processes, including the development and maintenance of cognitive biases such as exaggerated probability estimates toward future traumatic events. The current study investigated probability estimate biases toward future traumatic events in 445 undergraduate students (93.9% Hispanic) who experienced one of the following traumatic events or no trauma: childhood interpersonal trauma, adult interpersonal trauma, accident, a family member’s death due to COVID-19, or no trauma. Participants completed online questionnaires assessing probability estimates for two types of future traumas (interpersonal violence traumas and accidental traumas) and posttraumatic stress symptoms. The childhood trauma group generally showed the strongest probability estimate biases for future traumatic events among the four trauma-exposed groups. Similarly elevated probability estimates for future traumatic events were found in the other three trauma-exposed groups. Limited associations between levels of posttraumatic stress symptoms and probability estimate biases for future traumatic events were found. This study was the first to reveal the presence of biased probability estimates for future traumatic events in Hispanics exposed to a traumatic event. The results suggest that probability estimation biases developed in response to a specific traumatic event might become generalized to other types of traumatic events.

Comments

https://rdcu.be/dUdFb

Publication Title

Current Psychology

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-06318-5

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