Attentional bias effect on post-traumatic outcomes in children after earthquake: Mediation role of rumination

Abstract

After traumatic events, children with different types of attentional biases produce different psychological reactions with the help of the rumination process. A sample of 909 middle school students was taken from the Yunnan Ludian earthquake-affected area. Measurement scales of the Chinese version of the Attention to Positive and Negative Information Scale (APNI), the Chinese version of the Children's Revised Impact of Event Scale (CRIES), and the Revised Post-traumatic Growth Inventory for Children (PTG-C) were used to assess the attentional bias, risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and post-traumatic growth (PTG), respectively. The effect of self-reported attention bias was explored by using a structural equation model and bias-corrected bootstrap test on children's psychological reaction after trauma. The results show that there is a positive relationship between self-reported negative attentional bias and PTSD symptoms partially mediated by intrusive rumination and the negative relationship between self-reported positive attentional bias and PTSD symptoms. On the other hand, the relationship between self-reported positive attentional bias and PTG was positive and partially mediated by deliberate rumination. Furthermore, intrusive rumination did not affect PTG indirectly but mediated the relation of deliberate rumination.

Keywords: attentional bias; multiple mediation; post-traumatic growth; post-traumatic stress disorder; rumination.