Emotion Identification and Emotion Sensitivity Following Interpersonal and Noninterpersonal Traumatic Experiences: Results From the AURORA Study

Social cognition is an important mechanism linking trauma to psychopathology; however, current models fail to explain individual differences in social cognition after trauma exposure. We investigated whether the interpersonal nature of trauma exposure helps to explain variability in social cognitive outcomes. Our sample was derived from the AURORA study, a national initiative involving intensive follow-up of trauma survivors for one year. We analyzed data from 2241 participants (M<sub>age</sub> = 35.12, 64% female, 54% Black) who experienced an assault (<i>n</i> = 262) or a motor vehicle collision (<i>n</i> = 1979). Social cognition was assessed with the Multiracial Emotion Identification Task and the Belmont Emotion Sensitivity Test. Overall emotion identification accuracy declined over time among participants who experienced interpersonal trauma (β = -.10, <i>p</i> = .03), but not non-interpersonal trauma (β = .00, <i>p</i> = .83). These results may help to enhance the prediction of psychopathological outcomes following trauma exposure.

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Journal
Clinical Psychological Science
Published
2025-08-16
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/21677026251356428
Primary Topic
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Emotion Identification and Emotion Sensitivity Following Interpersonal and Noninterpersonal Traumatic Experiences: Results From the AURORA Study

Lauren A. Rutter, Brittany E. Punches, Christopher Lewandowski, Jutta Joormann et al.
Clinical Psychological Science
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
article

Emotion Identification and Emotion Sensitivity Following Interpersonal and Noninterpersonal Traumatic Experiences: Results From the AURORA Study

Lauren A. Rutter, Brittany E. Punches, Christopher Lewandowski, Jutta Joormann, Elizabeth M. Datner, Chloe C. Hudson, Paulina Sergot, Steven E. Harte, Scott L. Rauch, Tanja Jovanović, Jennifer Strafford Stevens, Laura Thi Germine, Claire Pearson, John P. Haran, Stacey L. House, Phyllis L. Hendry, Karestan C. Koenen, Robert M. Domeier, Mark John Seamon, José L. Pascual, Thomas C. Neylan, Samuel A. McLean, Steven E. Bruce, Alan B. Storrow, Xinming An, Sarah D. Linnstaedt, Lauren A. Hudak, Niels K. Rathlev, Roland C. Merchant, Paul I. Musey, Francesca L. Beaudoin, Sophia Sheikh, David A. Peak, Eliza Passell, León D. Sánchez, Brian J. O’Neil, Christopher W. Jones, Ronald C. Kessler, Rory McKemey
article en

Abstract

Social cognition is an important mechanism linking trauma to psychopathology; however, current models fail to explain individual differences in social cognition after trauma exposure. We investigated whether the interpersonal nature of trauma exposure helps to explain variability in social cognitive outcomes. Our sample was derived from the AURORA study, a national initiative involving intensive follow-up of trauma survivors for one year. We analyzed data from 2241 participants (M<sub>age</sub> = 35.12, 64% female, 54% Black) who experienced an assault (<i>n</i> = 262) or a motor vehicle collision (<i>n</i> = 1979). Social cognition was assessed with the Multiracial Emotion Identification Task and the Belmont Emotion Sensitivity Test. Overall emotion identification accuracy declined over time among participants who experienced interpersonal trauma (β = -.10, <i>p</i> = .03), but not non-interpersonal trauma (β = .00, <i>p</i> = .83). These results may help to enhance the prediction of psychopathological outcomes following trauma exposure.

Clinical Psychological ScienceVol. 14(2)
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US), Brigham and Women's Hospital (US), Trinity Health (US), Ascension (US), Baystate Medical Center (US), Harvard University (US), Thomas Jefferson University (US), Emory University (US), Henry Ford Health System (US), University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School (US), John Brown University (US), University of California, San Francisco (US), Wayne State University (US), University of Missouri–St. Louis (US), University of Michigan (US), Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (US), McLean Hospital (US), Detroit Receiving Hospital (US), Yale University (US), University of Florida (US), Massachusetts General Hospital (US), Cooper Medical School of Rowan University (US), Baystate Health (US), Jefferson Hospital (US), Indiana University School of Medicine, The Ohio State University (US), Indiana University (US), University of Pennsylvania (US), Virginia Tech (US), Vanderbilt University Medical Center (US), The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (US), Florida College (US)
One Mind, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Army, National Institute of Mental Health, Medical Research and Materiel Command, U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity
Openalex Percentile: Top 71%
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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