(PS4-B38) The Relationship Between Cognitive Fusion and Experiential Avoidance on Posttraumatic Stress: A Replication and Extension

Cognitive fusion, the perception of one’s thoughts as being literally true, has been found to be associated with various mental health difficulties including posttraumatic stress (Bodenlos et al., 2020; Bardeen & Fergus, 2016). Experiential avoidance (EA), the general unwillingness to engage with distressing thoughts and emotions, has also demonstrated associations with posttraumatic stress symptoms (Bardeen & Fergus, 2016; Kumpula et al., 2011).  Although EA and cognitive fusion have been proposed by Hayes and colleagues (2006) to be one of three pairs of psychological inflexibility that lead to negative emotional outcomes, few studies have considered the interaction of EA and cognitive fusion. In one study of adults recruited through MTurk, Bardeen and Fergus (2016) found that EA strengthens the relationship between cognitive fusion and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). However, there are varying methods of EA that were not differentiated in the Bardeen and Fergus study. Other samples were also not examined. The current study considered the differential impact on PTSS of different forms of EA, cognitive and behavioral. Specifically, these strategies included thought suppression, rumination, sexual activity to avoid negative affect, and alcohol use. Furthermore, this study sought to determine the relationship between cognitive fusion and EA in a sample of college students, a population exposed to traumatic events at a high rate (67-84%; Read et al., 2011).

            The sample included 327 undergraduate introductory psychology students from a large Midwestern university. The sample was primarily identified as female (58.7%; 38.5% male) and was racially diverse (46.8% White; 25.5% African American; 8.6% of Asian descent). Reliabilities of measures were good to excellent (α = 0.814-0.969). Using PROCESS macro version 4 model 1 (Hayes, 2022), the current study replicated findings from the Bardeen and Fergus (2016) study that as EA increases (as measured by the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II [AAQ-II]; Bond et al., 2011), the relationship between cognitive fusion and PTSS becomes stronger (high levels of EA β = 0.659; p < 0.001). However, the interaction term was not significant (β = 0.009; p = 0.088). In a study conducted by Tyndall and colleagues (2019), there are some indications that the AAQ-II may be measuring something different than EA. Thus, the analyses were conducted using the Brief Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire (Gamez et al., 2014), which has shown higher discriminant validity (Tyndall et al., 2019). In this moderation analyses, the interaction effect was significant (β = 0.010; p < 0.05) as in Bardeen and Fergus (2016). Additional moderation analyses were conducted replacing measures of EA with different strategies of EA. Findings indicated that as thought suppression increases, PTSS scores increase in response to cognitive fusion. No other significant relationships were found. Results from the current study may inform treatment of the maladaptive coping strategies utilized by trauma survivors. Additional implications and limitations of these findings will be discussed.