Interpersonal Trauma and the Inventory of Altered Self-capacities

Marsha Runtz, University of Victoria

John Briere, University of Southern

California

Background Identity issues, problems relating

to others, and affect control problems are associated with some types of personality disorders

Survivors of child maltreatment and other forms of interpersonal trauma often have difficulties in these areas

Inventory of Altered Self-capacities (IASC) Developed by John Briere (2000), USC Standardized with 620 randomly

sampled U.S. participants 63-item test of Self-capacities (i.e.,

relatedness, identity, affect regulation)

7 scales (two with 2 subscales each)

Concept of Self-capacities Involves three important adult tasks:

Formation and maintenance of meaningful relationships

Maintenance of a stable sense of personal identity and self-awareness

Ability to control and tolerate strong affect

Briere (1997); Kohut (1977); McCann & Perlman (1990)

Self-capacities on the IASC Relatedness (3 scales): formation and

maintenance of meaningful relationships

Interpersonal Conflicts (IC)

Idealization-Disillusionment (ID)

Abandonment Concerns (AC)

Self-capacities on the IASC Identity (2 scales): stable personal

identity & self-awareness

Identity Impairment (II): 2 subscales Self-awareness (II-S) Identity Diffusion (II-D)

Susceptibility to Influence (SI)

Self-capacities on the IASC Affect Control (2 scales): control and

tolerance of strong affect

Affect Dysregulation (AD) : 2 subscales Affect Skills Deficits (AD-S) Affect Instability (AD-I)

Tension Reduction Activities (TRA)

Relatedness Scales Interpersonal Conflicts:

Problems in relationships (romantic relationships, friendships, work or school relationships)

Involvement in chaotic, emotionally upsetting, and sometimes short-lived relationships

Potential for early termination of therapy

Relatedness Scales Idealization-Disillusionment

Dramatic change of one’s opinions about significant others (very positive to very negative)

Initial idealization changes to feelings of betrayal or disappointment

Similar dynamic may appear in the course of therapy

Relatedness Scales Abandonment Concerns

Sensitivity to perceived or actual abandonment by significant others

Expect and fear the termination of important relationships

May react to therapist’s unavoidable absences with excessive distress

Identity Scales Identity Impairment

difficulty in maintaining a coherent sense of identity and self-awareness

Self-awareness: lack of awareness of one’s goals and needs, or basis of one’s behavior

Identity Diffusion: tendency to confuse one’s thoughts, feelings, and perspectives with those of others

Identity Scales Susceptibility to Influence

Tendency to follow the directions of others without sufficient self-consideration and to accept uncritically other’s statements or assertions

May be more suggestible to therapeutic suggestions

Affect Control Scales Affect Dysregulation

Problems in affect regulation, including mood swings and inhibiting anger expression

Affect Skills Deficits: underlying deficits in affect control

Affect Instability: actual rapid changes in mood

Affect Control Scales Tension Reduction Activities

Reacts to painful internal states and affects with externalizing behaviors

Attempts to distract, soothe, or reduce internal distress

Externalizes when feeling frustrated, angry, or otherwise internally stressed

Qualities of the IASC Standardized & validated in 4

sample Normative sample (n = 620) Clinical sample (n = 116) University sample (UVic; n = 290) Community sample (n = 33)

Strong reliability and validity

Participants

Total N 580 University students

Women 73% (n = 425)

Men 27% (n = 154)

Age 19.5 (range 16 – 54)

Marital status 95% single

Race 83% Caucasian13% Asian

SES Middle class

Measurement of Trauma Detailed Assessment of Post-traumatic

Stress (DAPS; Briere, 2001)

12 item checklist to screen for trauma

Assesses potential Interpersonal trauma (IPT) and Non-interpersonal trauma (NIPT)

Traumatic Events (DAPS) Interpersonal Trauma (IPT)

9 items including: Robbery or physical assault Child sexual and physical abuse Sexual assault Witness another person get seriously

hurt

Traumatic Events (DAPS) Non-Interpersonal Trauma (NIPT)

Automobile accident Serious work or home accident Natural disasters (e.g., fire,

earthquake)

Potentially Traumatic Experiences

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Overall IPT NIPT

% who had theevent% traumatized bythe event

Results Examined the relationship of IPT

and NIPT to the subscales of the IASC (using sex as a covariate): only IPT was significant, F (7,553) =

4.26, p<.001

Univariate analyses: IPT was related to all 7 subscales of the IASC

Post-hoc Univariate Results:

IPT was associated with greater: Interpersonal Conflicts F (1,559) = 10.8 Idealization-Disillusionment F (1,559) = 22.0 Abandonment Concerns F (1,559) = 13.3 Identity Impairment F (1,559) = 10.1 Susceptibility to Influence F (1,559) = 11.9 Affect Dysregulation F (1,559) = 19.4 Tension Reduction Activities F (1,559) = 19.6

all at p < .001

Multiple Traumatic Events

56% with any trauma had more than one traumatic event

Higher numbers of traumas were correlated with higher the scores on all IASC scales (range, r = .11 to r = .25; all at p<.001)

Those with more than one trauma had higher scores on all scales except Identity Impairment

Conclusions Being victimized by other people appears

to influence difficulties with self-capacities

The ability to maintain a stable identity, to function well in relationships, and to effectively regulate strong affect are linked to interpersonal victimization events

Conclusions As expected, greater amounts of

trauma overall are associated with greater difficulties with self-capacities

Those individuals with clinical elevations on the self-capacity scales also tended to have experienced interpersonal trauma

Clinical Implications Interpersonal victimization “effects” may

influence the therapeutic relationship Therapists may be guided in their

treatment of victims of violence by their assessment of client self-capacities

“Corrective emotional experiences” in the interpersonal realm during therapy may be particularly helpful when working with victims of IPT

Limitations of the Study Alternative explanations: poor self-

capacities may be a risk factor for IPT

Generalization difficulties due to the sample type

Measurement limitations regarding use of only screening questions for important types of victimization (e.g., child sexual abuse)

Future Research Other studies are being conducted

using more in-depth questions to assess IPT

More diverse samples need to be tested More complex models (e.g., mediational

models) require examination Clinical outcome studies of therapies

dealing with self-capacities are needed

For more information… On this study:

Contact Marsha Runtz, PhDUniversity of Victoria, runtz@uvic.ca

On the IASC: See John Briere’s web page: www.johnbriere.comOrder the test from PAR: 1-800-331-

TEST orGo to www.parinc.com