Dissociation as a mediator of posttraumatic symptoms in a Puerto Rican university sample.

The present study examined the role of dissociation as a mediator in the relationship between self-reported childhood abusive experiences and adult posttraumatic symptomatology in a nonclinical, Spanish-speaking Latino sample. Participants were 208 (144 female, 64 male) students at the University of Puerto Rico. It was hypothesized that dissociation would mediate the relationship between childhood abusive experiences and adult posttraumatic symptomatology. Dissociation was measured using the Dissociative Experiences Scale, and posttraumatic distress was measured using 9 of the 10 clinical scales of the Trauma Symptom Inventory (TSI). Results indicated that dissociation fully mediated the relationship between childhood abusive experiences and the Anxious Arousal and Dysfunctional Sexual Behavior scales of the TSI. Dissociation also partially mediated the relationship between childhood exposure and the other TSI clinical scales used in the analyses. Implications for clinicians working with Puerto Rican survivors of childhood abuse are discussed.