When traumatic event exposure characteristics matter: Impact of traumatic event exposure characteristics on posttraumatic and dissociative symptoms.

Objective: Traumatic events can lead to posttraumatic (posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD] specific symptoms) and dissociative symptoms (PTSD nonspecific symptoms). However, the trauma exposure characteristics (type of exposure, categorical form, number of exposures and the age of the exposure) are rarely studied. We hypothesized that the characteristics of a traumatic event are the only predictors of specific posttraumatic symptoms (intrusion, avoidance, negative cognitive impairment) and nonspecific symptoms (dissociation).