Papers by Alytia Levendosky
Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, Dec 1, 2022
Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, Nov 1, 2018
Hazardous alcohol use is a common problem among survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV), alt... more Hazardous alcohol use is a common problem among survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV), although not all women who experience IPV exhibit hazardous alcohol use. Recent research has suggested that 1 factor that may influence hazardous alcohol use is temperament, although this has not yet been examined in the context of IPV. In this study, we examine the main and moderating effects of temperament traits (constraint, negative emotionality, and positive emotionality) on the association between IPV and hazardous alcohol use in a sample of young adult women (N = 654) using a Bayesian approach to multiple linear regression. Results indicated that each temperament trait incrementally predicted hazardous alcohol use over and above the effects of IPV and other negative life events. Results further indicated that both negative emotionality and positive emotionality moderated the influence of IPV on hazardous alcohol use such that IPV was positively associated with hazardous alcohol use at high levels of these traits but not at low levels. Study findings extend previous research on the effects of temperament traits to the context of IPV, underscoring the importance of including temperament in the assessment of IPV survivors. (PsycINFO Database Record
Violence & Victims, Jun 1, 2019
Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are some of the most common mental health sympto... more Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are some of the most common mental health symptoms women experience following exposure to dating violence (DV). However, not all women who experience DV exhibit PTSD symptoms. One factor that may influence whether or not women exhibit PTSD symptoms in the aftermath of DV exposure is interpersonal style, often operationalized in terms of two orthogonal dimensions, warmth and dominance. In this study, we examined the main and moderating effects of warmth and dominance on the association between DV and PTSD symptoms using latent moderating structural equation modeling in a sample of 303 female college students who reported DV exposure in the past year. Results indicated that warmth exerted a main effect predicting fewer PTSD symptoms. In addition, dominance moderated the association between DV and PTSD symptoms such that at high levels of DV, women who were high on dominance reported fewer PTSD symptoms than did women who were low on dominance. These findings suggest that aspects of interpersonal style may promote resilience to symptoms of posttraumatic stress following DV exposure. Directions for future research are also discussed.
Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, Nov 10, 2020
Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, Jun 19, 2019
Research in the field of trauma has highlighted the influence of exposure to trauma with a high d... more Research in the field of trauma has highlighted the influence of exposure to trauma with a high degree of betrayal on personality pathology. Studies have demonstrated that high betrayal trauma affects the severity of personality pathology over and above other forms of trauma. This research been confined primarily to the study of borderline personality disorder, although recent research suggests that the influence of high betrayal trauma may also influence other forms of personality pathology. One form of personality pathology that may be particularly amenable to examination in this regard is pathological narcissism. Clinical evidence has suggested the etiological influence of trauma on pathological narcissism, although there has been a little empirical study of the influence of trauma with different degrees of betrayal on narcissism. In this study, we investigate this by examining the influence of trauma with varying degrees of betrayal on grandiose and vulnerable dimensions of pathological narcissism in a sample of young adults using a Bayesian approach to structural equation modeling. Results indicate that exposure to trauma high in betrayal is the only predictor of both dimensions of pathological narcissism when controlling for other forms of trauma exposure. Implications for future research and clinical intervention are also discussed.
Journal of trauma & dissociation, Jan 25, 2019
Frontiers in Psychology
The Alternative Model of Personality Disorders (AMPD) integrates several theoretical models of pe... more The Alternative Model of Personality Disorders (AMPD) integrates several theoretical models of personality functioning, including interpersonal theory. The interpersonal circumplex dimensions of warmth and dominance can be conceptualized as traits similar to those in AMPD Criterion B, but interpersonal theory also offers dynamic hypotheses about how these variables that change from moment to moment, which help to operationalize some of the processes alluded to in AMPD Criterion A. In the psychotherapy literature, dynamic interpersonal behaviors are thought to be critical for identifying therapeutic alliance ruptures, yet few studies have examined moment-to-moment interpersonal behaviors that are associated with alliance ruptures at an idiographic level. The current study examined the concurrent and cross-lagged relationships between interpersonal behaviors and alliance ruptures within each session in the famous Gloria films (“Three Approaches to Psychotherapy”). Interpersonal behavi...
Objective: In this study we aimed to examine how moment-to-moment interpersonal behaviors of warm... more Objective: In this study we aimed to examine how moment-to-moment interpersonal behaviors of warmth and dominance in patients and therapists, as well as interpersonal complementarity, are related to withdrawal and confrontation ruptures as sessions unfold. Methods: Sixteen psychotherapy sessions from eight independent therapeutic dyads were sampled for the highest level of alliance ruptures from a naturalistic psychotherapy dataset featuring evidence-based psychodynamic psychotherapy for patients with interpersonal problems and personality pathology. Interpersonal behaviors, complementarity, and alliance ruptures were generated every 30 seconds within each session. Subgrouping within Group Iterative Multiple Model Estimation (S-GIMME) was used to identify an idiographic network structure for each session and examine generalizability at the nomothetic and subgroup levels. Results: Nomothetically, patients’ dominance negatively predicted therapists’ dominance concurrently, but positiv...
Journal of Research in Personality, 2021
We established realness as the relatively stable tendency to act on the outside the way one feels... more We established realness as the relatively stable tendency to act on the outside the way one feels on the inside, without regard for proximal personal or social consequences. In nine studies, we showed that realness is a) a core feature of individual differences in authenticity, b) generally adaptive but largely unrelated to agreeableness, c) highly stable, d) reliably observable in dyadic behavior, and e) predictive of responses to situations with potential for personal or social costs. Informants both perceive agreeable motives in real behavior and recognize that being real can be disagreeable. We concluded that realness represents an important individual difference construct that is foundational for authentic social behavior, and that being real comes with both costs and benefits.
Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 2021
OBJECTIVE Suicide is a problem on college campuses. One of the strongest predictors of suicide ri... more OBJECTIVE Suicide is a problem on college campuses. One of the strongest predictors of suicide risk is symptoms of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Additional factors, such as trauma, also increase risk for suicide. One type of trauma that is especially insidious is 1 in which people are betrayed by others on whom they depend for support or protection (betrayal traumas). However, there is little research on the incremental effects of BPD symptoms and trauma with varying degrees of betrayal on suicide risk. METHOD In this study, we examined the relative effects of BPD symptoms and traumatic experiences with varying degrees of betrayal on suicide risk in a sample of college students (N = 915) using a Bayesian approach to multiple linear regression. RESULTS Results suggest that BPD symptoms and traumas with high and medium degrees of betrayal have incremental effects on suicide risk, although this effect differs by sex. CONCLUSION These findings highlight the utility of assessing history of trauma over and above BPD symptoms in the prediction of suicide risk and have implications for future research and clinical intervention. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 2020
The Humanistic Psychologist, 2018
Existentially oriented thinkers propose that anxiety about one’s eventual demise (i.e., death anx... more Existentially oriented thinkers propose that anxiety about one’s eventual demise (i.e., death anxiety) is a salient feature of the human condition and the underlying cause of psychological distress. They further propose that exposure to trauma is likely to evoke death anxiety, an idea that has been supported by the research literature. Research also suggests that trauma with a high degree of betrayal (high betrayal trauma) has an especially pernicious effect on psychological distress. However, this has not yet been demonstrated with respect to death anxiety in particular. In this study, we examined the incremental effects of high betrayal trauma and other traumatic experiences with lower degrees of betrayal on death anxiety in a large sample of college students (N = 915) using a Bayesian approach to multiple linear regression. Results suggest that high betrayal has a positive incremental influence on death anxiety over and above other forms of trauma and is the sole predictor of death anxiety. These results extend and integrate the research literature on death anxiety and betrayal trauma, further underscoring the association between high betrayal trauma and psychological distress. Directions for future research and potential clinical implications are also discussed.
Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 2021
Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are common reactions to trauma. One factor that ... more Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are common reactions to trauma. One factor that influences the manifestation of PTSD symptoms is the type of trauma experienced. Traumas perpetrated by someone on whom the trauma survivor trusts and relies on for support (i.e., betrayal traumas) are especially predictive of PTSD symptoms. However, the degree to which this is true differs somewhat across men and women. Another factor that influences PTSD symptoms is personality, which is most often operationalized in terms of discrete personality traits. Among these traits, Neuroticism (the tendency to experience negative affect) is linked to a wide range of psychological dysfunction in general and to PTSD symptoms in particular. However, there is little research on how trauma type and personality differentially influence PTSD symptoms. To address this gap, in this study we examined the incremental effects of traumas with varying degrees of betrayal and personality traits on PTSD symptoms in a sample of college students (N = 276) using a Bayesian approach to multiple regression. Results suggest that Neuroticism and trauma at all levels of betrayal were associated with higher levels of PTSD symptoms, although this differed across sex. These results are consistent with previous research that identifies Neuroticism as a risk factor for a wide range of mental health problems and clarifies earlier findings on betrayal trauma.
Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, Aug 2, 2016
Studies on the effects of intimate partner violence (IPV) on children have typically focused on I... more Studies on the effects of intimate partner violence (IPV) on children have typically focused on IPV to which children were exposed after their birth. However, research has also demonstrated the effect of prenatal IPV on children's psychological functioning, although this has not yet been studied with respect to dissociation. In this study, we examined the association between prenatal and postbirth IPV and dissociative symptoms among preschool-age children using a Bayesian approach to multiple regression. Results indicated that prenatal IPV predicts child dissociative symptoms over and above postbirth IPV and other negative life events that the child has experienced. These results provide further evidence for the role prenatal IPV plays in the development of child psychopathology and suggest directions for future research and intervention.
Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy
Development and Psychopathology, 1994
Past research highlights the importance of considering the sequelae of physical abuse in the cont... more Past research highlights the importance of considering the sequelae of physical abuse in the context of other risk factors and possible exacerbating circumstances. The present research examines the relative, unique, and interactive effects of physical abuse, sociocultural disadvantage, and cumulative negative life events. Multiple measures and data sources were used to assess the socioeconomic circumstances, exposure to recent negative events, and social, cognitive, and affective adjustment of 19 physically abused and 49 nonabused elementary school-age children. Results indicated that abuse strongly independently predicted problems in children's adjustment with peers, self-perceptions, and depression. Abuse was also related to increased behavioral problems at home and at school, though this relation abated and even reversed itself as social disadvantage increased. Cumulative negative events independently predicted negative self-perceptions and, for girls, increased depression. S...
Psychoneuroendocrinology, Dec 25, 2016
The studies of the effects of intimate partner violence (IPV) on the cortisol awakening response ... more The studies of the effects of intimate partner violence (IPV) on the cortisol awakening response (CAR) are scarce and contradictory. While some of the studies suggested that female victims of IPV showed high CAR, other studies found low CAR. Mixed results may be related to differences in sample characteristics as well as other potential covariates associated with the cortisol, as femalés history of abuse, chronicity, severity and type of IPV, psychological distress, posttraumatic stress disorder, and social support. The study examined individual differences in CAR among 149 female victims of severe IPV reported to authorities, including 76 (51%) living in shelter and 73 (49%) living with the abusive partners. Results revealed several individual differences in CAR that may contribute to understanding the mixed results found in literature, including women with cortisol that decreased between the baseline and 30min later, women with no increase of cortisol, and women whose cortisol in...
Pediatric Rehabilitation, 1997
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Papers by Alytia Levendosky