The purpose of this study is to verify the mediating effects of dissociation experience, relationship addiction, and internalized shame in the relationship between complex trauma experience in childhood-adolescence and interpersonal trauma in adulthood.

Two hundred and thirty-eight adults participated in this study. They were administered the Korean versions of the Trauma Antecedents Questionnaire, Impact of Event Scale-Revised, Dissociative Experiences Scale, Relationship Addiction Questionnaire, and Internalized Shame Scale. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, reliability analysis, and structural equation modeling.

First, dissociation and internalized shame had a double mediating effect in the relationship between complex trauma experience in childhood-adolescence and interpersonal trauma in adulthood. Second, relationship addiction and internalized shame had a double mediating effect in the relationship between complex trauma experience in childhood-adolescence and interpersonal trauma in adulthood. Third, dissociation, relationship addiction, and internalized shame had a triple mediating effect in the relationship between complex trauma experience in childhood-adolescence and interpersonal trauma in adulthood.

Therapeutic intervention for revictimization should address symptoms such as dissociation, relationship addiction, and internalized shame. In addition, people with complex trauma experiences in childhood-adolescence require preventive intervention to avoid further exposure to interpersonal trauma.

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.