Memory Associating with Posttraumatic Distress and Growth Among Yazidi Women Survivors of Genocide

Research shows that severe trauma, such as war and genocide, incurs high risks for mental health; however, two additions could boost vital insights into that research: 1) a comprehensive conceptualization of mental health involving both symptoms and/or disorders and growth and/or resources and 2) knowledge of psychological trauma processing (e.g. that memory of the trauma forms a cognitive–emotional underpinning used in recovery). This study analyzed how fragmented and intensified trauma memories are generally associated with posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSD) and posttraumatic growth (PTG) and explored possible specific associations between the nature of trauma memories and the dimensions of PTSD symptoms. The participants were 283 Yazidi women living as internally displaced people in the Kurdish Region in Iraq. Women reported their trauma-related memories using the Trauma Memory Quality Questionnaire, PTSD symptoms using the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire, and PTG using the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory. As hypothesized, both fragmented and intensified trauma memories were significantly associated with a high PTSD symptoms total score and fragmented trauma memories with a low PTG total score. Against our hypothesis, intensified trauma memories were associated with a high PTG total score and especially with a high level of spiritual enlightenment and wisdom. The specificity hypothesis between the nature of trauma memories and dimensions of PTSD symptoms was not substantiated. We may conclude that healing fragmented memories is most essential because those memories were comprehensively associated with poor mental health, indicated by high levels of PTSD symptoms and low levels of PTG.