Personality and posttraumatic stress symptoms in oncological patients – the mediating role of ruminations

Purpose
Cognitive activity, including event-related ruminations and personality features play an essential role in the occurrence of negative outcomes of experienced traumatic events. The study investigated the role of ruminations, treated both in terms of stable disposition (trait-like rumination) and about the event in the relationship between personality dimensions and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Methods
Sixty people, aged 18–78 years (M = 50.4, SD = 17.74), who had experienced malignant tumours in the craniofacial area were examined. The majority of respondents (68.3%) were women. The Impact of Event Scale-Revised, the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), the Rumination-Reflection Questionnaire (RRQ) and the Event Related Rumination Inventory (ERRI) were used in the study.

Results
The majority of respondents, i.e. 76.7%, reported moderate or severe PTSD symptoms. Low levels of these symptoms were observed only in 23.3% of the subjects. The only dimension of personality associated with the severity of PTSD symptoms was neuroticism. It plays a predictive role for dispositional ruminating and for the intrusive ruminations of an experienced event. In turn, this type of ruminations is conducive to the occurrence of PTSD symptoms. The conducted multiple mediation analysis (double mediation model) indicated the significance of intrusive ruminations as a factor favouring the intensity of the PTSD symptoms.

Conclusions
Ruminations seem to play a more important role in the occurrence of PTSD symptoms than personality traits. Ruminations about the experienced situation are more significant than trait-like rumination for the occurrence of these symptoms.