Self-Disgust Is Associated With Loneliness, Mental Health Difficulties, and Eye-Gaze Avoidance in War Veterans With PTSD

YPSILANTI, Antonia, GETTINGS, Richard, LAZURAS, Lambros, ROBSON, Anna, POWELL, Philip A. and OVERTON, Paul G. (2020). Self-Disgust Is Associated With Loneliness, Mental Health Difficulties, and Eye-Gaze Avoidance in War Veterans With PTSD. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, p. 559883.

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Open Access URL: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg... (Published version)
Link to published version:: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.559883

Abstract

In the present study, we examined, for the first time, the association between self-disgust, loneliness, and mental health difficulties in war veterans diagnosed with PTSD. For this purpose, we used a mixed methods design, incorporating surveys and a novel eye-tracking paradigm, and compared the findings from the PTSD veteran group (n = 19) to those from a general population group (n = 22). Our results showed that the PTSD veteran group reported almost three times higher scores in self-disgust, and significantly higher scores in loneliness and mental health difficulties (anxiety and depression), compared to the general population. Furthermore, self-disgust mediated the association between loneliness and anxiety symptoms in both groups. The results from the eye-tracking paradigm further showed that veterans with PTSD displayed a self-avoidance gaze pattern, by looking significantly more toward pictures of faces of unknown others and away from their own face—a pattern that was not replicated in the general population group. Higher self-disgust scores were significantly associated with longer total gaze to the pictures of others (vs. the self). Our findings have implications for the role of self-disgust in the mental health of war veterans.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: 1701 Psychology; 1702 Cognitive Sciences
Identification Number: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.559883
Page Range: p. 559883
SWORD Depositor: Symplectic Elements
Depositing User: Symplectic Elements
Date Deposited: 05 Nov 2020 12:10
Last Modified: 17 Mar 2021 20:31
URI: https://shura.shu.ac.uk/id/eprint/27542

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