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 N580 University students Women73% (n = 425) Men27% (n = 154) Age19.5 (range 16 – 54) Marital status95% single Race83% Caucasian 13% Asian SESMiddle 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

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 ActivitiesF (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, PhD University of Victoria, On the IASC: See John Briere’s web page: Order the test from PAR: TEST or Go to