Disgust, mental contamination, and posttraumatic stress: Unique relations following sexual versus non-sexual assault

Disgust and mental contamination (or feelings of dirtiness and urges to wash in the absence of a physical contaminant) are increasingly being linked to traumatic event exposure and posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptomatology. Evidence suggests disgust and mental contamination are particularly relevant to sexual assault experiences; however, there has been relatively little direct examination of these relations. The primary aim of the current study was to assess disgust and mental contamination-based reactivity to an individualized interpersonal assault-related script-driven imagery procedure. Participants included 22 women with a history of traumatic sexual assault and 19 women with a history of traumatic non-sexual assault. Sexual assault and PTS symptom severity predicted greater increases in disgust, feelings of dirtiness, and urges to wash in response to the traumatic event script. Finally, assault type affected the association between PTS symptom severity and increases in feelings of dirtiness and urges to wash in response to the traumatic event script such that these associations were only significant among sexually assaulted individuals. These findings highlight the need for future research focused on elucidating the nature of the relation between disgust and mental contamination and PTS reactions following various traumatic events.

► We assessed real-time assault-related feelings of mental contamination, disgust, and anxiety. ► Sexually or physically assaulted women completed a script-driven imagery procedure. ► Sexual assault and posttraumatic stress predicted increased disgust. ► Posttraumatic stress related to mental contamination only among sexually assaulted women. ► Assault type was not associated with differences in anxiety reactivity.