(PS11-A17) Gender and Belief Type Moderate Posttraumatic Cognitions and Social Functioning Associations After Military Sexual Trauma

Negative Posttraumatic Cognitions (NPCs) contribute to the development and maintenance of PTSD following assault trauma and are identified as potential change mechanisms in the evidence-based treatments for PTSD. While associations between trauma exposure and impaired social functioning have been observed, links between NPCs and specific types of interpersonal functioning are less well understood, particularly following experiences of military sexual trauma (MST). Finally, some evidence suggests gender differences may be important in the consideration of NPCs, though there is a dearth of studies including men in MST-focused research. We aimed to evaluate associations between negative beliefs about the world, the self, and self-blame and social functioning and whether these varied by gender or relationship type. Veterans (N = 117) seeking mental health treatment associated with sequelae of MST presented to a Midwest PTSD Specialty Clinic and completed semi-structured interviews and screening measures, including social items of the WHO Disability Schedule (WHODAS 2.0; Utsun et al., 2010) and the Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory (PTCI; Foa et al., 1999). Regarding interpersonal difficulties, social disability scores were highest for sexual relationships and making new friends, followed by relationships with strangers, maintaining friendships, and getting along with people considered close. No between-group differences emerged for sexual functioning, and sexual activities were not related to NPCs. NPCs about the self were positively associated with most types of poor interpersonal functioning in both men and women. For beliefs about the world, women demonstrated significant positive associations with all aspects of impaired social functioning other than sex, while no associations were observed for men. In contrast, for self-blame, significant positive associations were observed among men with worsened stranger relationships, maintaining friendships, and getting along with close others. By contrast, women demonstrated significant positive associations between self-blame and challenges developing new friendships. In general, NPC-social functioning associations were stronger for women. Addressing NPCs may be important for preventing or treating adverse sequelae of trauma and associated interpersonal concomitants. Additional research investigating sexual functioning following MST exposure is warranted. Further, future research considering targeting NPCs for improvements of social health following MST may benefit from consideration of gender differences in NPC-social functioning associations.