Specificity and generalization of attentional bias in sexual trauma victims suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder

The present study investigated specificity of attentional biases for trauma-related stimuli using an Emotional Stroop Task. Participants were 14 women suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who had experienced a sexual trauma and 24 healthy non-traumatized women. They were asked to name print colors of 4 different word types: threatening sexual violence words and non-threatening sexual words, threatening accident trauma words, and positive words. Compared to control participants, PTSD patients displayed increased interference by threatening trauma-related, but not by accident trauma and positive words. Interference by non-threatening sexual words occurred as well, but only in those patients who suffered from more severe PTSD arousal symptoms. These findings suggest graded generalization of the attentional bias across stimuli of varying emotional valence, but specificity regarding the trauma topic. Results are discussed in light of current cognitive models of PTSD, and clinical implications are suggested.

► We investigate the specificity of attentional bias in PTSD patients.
► PTSD patients exhibit increased interference by threatening trauma-related words.
► Interference by non-threatening trauma-related words depends on PTSD severeness.
► Attentional bias is specific regarding trauma topic, but can generalize by valance.