Date of Award
1997
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Roger Bakeman
Second Advisor
Katherine Burge-Callaway
Third Advisor
Pauline Rose Clance
Fourth Advisor
Lauren Adamson
Fifth Advisor
Robin Fivush
Sixth Advisor
Melissa Welsh-Ross
Abstract
This study was designed to investigate empirically clinical assumptions regarding hypothesized deficits in self-development associated with early interpersonal trauma. A sample of 110 undergraduates completed a protocol involving interviews and questionnaires related to trauma history, dissociation, early autobiographical memory, and schematic self-representation. Impairment in self-functioning was explored relative to hypothesized deficits in early memory and self-representation and related tendencies for dissociation. Significant levels of trauma were found, as 68% of participants reported trauma at some point during the lifetime; however, no differences were found between trauma and no-trauma groups, and the hypotheses were not supported. The only clearly interpretable significant findings suggested that: (1) memories that participants labeled as traumatic were more elaborated than all other memories; and (2) individuals with more severe traumas showed greater elaboration in childhood memories than did individuals with less severe traumas.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.57709/m687-2477
Recommended Citation
Reviere, Susan L., "The Effects of Early Childhood Trauma on Self Development: Dissociation, Autobiographical Memory and Self-Representation." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 1997.
doi: https://doi.org/10.57709/m687-2477
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