Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, Vol 18(4), May 2026, 701-709; doi:10.1037/tra0002103
Objective: Event centrality, identity, and trauma type may impact the symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), although extant literature is still in nascent stages, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Method: This study examined the direct and indirect effects of event centrality, identity, and trauma type on PTSD among 276 college students in India (Mage = 19.05, SD = 0.91) analyzed using bivariate correlation and mediation analysis using a single group, cross-sectional, exploratory design. Trauma History Questionnaire, Centrality of Events Scale (CES), PTSD Checklist–Civilian-5, and Severity Indices in Personality Problems were used. Results: Event centrality showed strong correlation (ρ = .798) while self-control showed moderate correlation (ρ = .45) with PTSD symptoms. General disasters were found to be highly correlated with event centrality (ρ = .69) and PTSD symptoms (ρ = .68), while traumatic physical and sexual experiences were moderately correlated (CES: ρ = .42 and PTSD: ρ = .50). Indirect effects were mediated by event centrality and self-control between general disasters and PTSD symptoms (CES: β = 2.85, SE = 0.36, p SE = 0.20, p SE = 0.62, p SE = 0.43, p SE = 0.85, p