Thought Control: Is It Ability, Strategies, or Both That Predicts Posttraumatic Symptomatology in Victims of Interpersonal Trauma?

Cognitive models of PTSD have implicated thought control in the development, maintenance, and recovery from PTSD. The present
study extends previous research on thought control (ability and strategies) and it’s relation to posttraumatic stress symptoms
(PTSS) in a sample of interpersonal trauma (IPT) survivors. Results revealed that weak thought control ability mediated the
relationship between accumulated discrete IPT experiences and PTSS severity. Weak thought control ability was associated with
greater use of thought control strategies, and thought control strategies of punishment and suppression added significant
variance over and above the effects of accumulated IPT experiences and thought control ability in predicting PTSS severity.
Furthermore, weak thought control ability was related to greater PTSS severity through the use of punishment and suppression
thought control strategies. The present findings extend previous research and provide further support for theoretical assumptions
of current treatment approaches for PTSD.