Differences in HPA axis reactivity to intimacy in women with and without histories of sexual trauma

Psychoneuroendocrinology
Amber A MartinsonSandra T Sigmon

Abstract

Sexual trauma can lead to longstanding effects on individuals' intimacy functioning. The current study aimed to assess hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis functioning (i.e., cortisol reactivity) prior to (-5min), during (+15, +30, +45min), and following (+60min) an experimental manipulation of emotional closeness in a sample of women survivors of sexual trauma with varying levels of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology versus controls. Participants included 50 women, which were divided into 2 groups on the basis of a structured clinical interview: 26 women with a history of sexual trauma with and without PTSD (sexual trauma group), and 24 women without a history of sexual trauma or PTSD (controls). Participants came into the lab and participated in a 45min emotional closeness exercise with a male confederate and completed self-report questionnaires of closeness, state anxiety/depression, and cortisol assays at the aforementioned time points. Women with a history of sexual trauma exhibited a blunted cortisol response and greater anxious mood in reaction to the intimacy induction task compared to controls. Results also demonstrated that, unexpectedly, PTSD symptom severity scores among sexual trauma survivors...Continue Reading

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Citations

Dec 19, 2018·Translational Behavioral Medicine·Amber MartinsonJamie Clinton-Lont
May 4, 2017·International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the International Society for Developmental Neuroscience·Khayelihle B MakhathiniWilliam M U Daniels
Jan 5, 2021·Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy·Laura Pietras, Peer Briken

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