Numerous studies have accumulated findings indicating that the way of coping is a critical mediator in the relation between these traumatic events and psychological outcomes. This study investigates the associations between coping strategies and post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in Korean adults.

Through an online survey, 554 non-clinical adult respondents were recruited. We assessed PTSS using the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) scale and measured individual coping strategies using the Ways of Coping Checklist (WCCL). Based on the IES-R standard cut-off score, we categorized the respondents into 3 groups: normal (n=255), non-PTSS (n=185) and PTSS (n=144) after exposure to traumatic events.

The scores of each coping strategy in a PTSS group were generally higher than in either the normal or non-PTSS group. In the logistic regression analysis, PTSS group was 2.77 more likely to use Tension-reduction coping compared to the other two samples.

Our findings suggest that PTSS is associated with high inclination to apply emotion-focused coping such as tension-reduction contributing to psychological distress. These results point to the potential value of coping strategies in prevention of and therapeutic approach to PTSS for non-clinical adults.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between attentional bias to threat and positive stimuli (i.e., facilitated attentional engagement, difficulty in attentional disengagement, and attentional avoidance) and event-related rumination, and to examine whether the latter mediated the relationship between attentional bias and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and posttraumatic growth (PTG) in individuals with traumatic experiences.

A total of 70 college students with traumatic experiences participated in the study. Attentional bias to threat and positive stimuli was measured by employing a spatial cueing task. Other variables were assessed using self-report measures including The Impact of Event-Related Scale-Revised, Event-Related Rumination Inventory, Post-traumatic Growth Inventory, and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory.

The results indicated that attentional avoidance was significantly associated with intrusive rumination, whereas none of the three aspects of attention bias was associated with deliberate rumination. Furthermore, attentional avoidance was related to increased intrusive rumination, which in turn, was associated with increased PTSS. Additionally, difficulty in attentional disengagement from threat stimuli was associated with finding new possibilities, one aspect of a PTG, even after controlling for the impact of deliberate rumination.

The current results suggest that therapeutic interventions aimed at helping individuals not to avoid but accept their traumatic experience may be effective to overcome trauma and facilitate PTG among individuals with traumatic experiences.