Rahel Bachem

Verified

Rahel verified their affiliation via an institutional email.

Learn more

Verified

Rahel verified their affiliation via an institutional email.

Learn more

• PhD
• PostDoc Position at University of Zurich

World assumptions (WAs) are cognitive schemas concerning an individual's views of themselves, the world, and others. Although it is well established that WAs are negatively distorted by trauma exposure and strongly associated with posttraumatic psychopathology, the potential impact of WAs on close interpersonal relationships remains largely uninves...

Background : In the aftermath of trauma not only the primary traumatized survivors’ mental health is affected but often also their significant others. The current study explores the specific associations of ICD symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and disturbances in self organization (DSO) for secondary traumatic stress and dyadic adju...

Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (complex PTSD) is a severe mental disorder that emerges in response to traumatic life events. Complex PTSD is characterised by three core post-traumatic symptom clusters, along with chronic and pervasive disturbances in emotion regulation, identity, and relationships. Complex PTSD has been adopted as a new dia...

The ICD-11 has introduced a new conceptualization of adjustment disorder (AjD) as a stress response syndrome with core symptoms of preoccupations and failure to adapt to the stressor. The current study aimed to assess the reliability and validity of the International Adjustment Disorder Questionnaire (IADQ) in two culturally distinct samples from I...

Objectives Traumatic experiences constitute a risk factor for developing different psychopathologies, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), complex PTSD (CPTSD), and positive symptoms of psychosis. However, on the symptom level, it is still unclear how CPTSD and positive symptoms of psychosis associate with each other. The present study ai...

Aim Adjustment disorder (AjD) is a prevalent mental disorder with evolving definitions in the International Classification of Diseases, 11th Revision (ICD‐11). The Adjustment Disorder‐New Module‐20 (ADNM‐20) assesses six AjD symptom clusters based on the ICD‐11 criteria and has demonstrated strong psychometric validity. This study aimed to develop...

Adjustment disorder (AjD) is a widespread disorder that has remained poorly defined for decades. Recently, the ICD-11 refined the diagnostic concept, and researchers developed the International Adjustment Disorder Questionnaire (IADQ) to assess such conceptualization. The aim of the study was to validate the French version of this questionnaire. A...

Background Evidence suggests that men who have sex with men experience heightened risk for stressor-related mental health issues. This may be exacerbated among those who engage in chemsex; recreational substance use during sex. Valid assessment of adjustment difficulties, and risk factors associated with these, is needed to better understand these...

Background: Somatic symptoms, such as chronic pain, fatigue, and gastrointestinal disturbances, are commonly reported in individuals with a history of childhood maltreatment (CM), which includes various forms of abuse and neglect experienced before age 18. Although CM is strongly associated with somatic symptoms, the specific relationships between...

Paper in German: Introduction: During the ICD-11 revisions, the diagnosis of continuous traumatic stress disorder was discussed for the chapter on disorders specifically associated with stress but was rejected due to insufficient empirical evidence. Current wars, however, demonstrate that the psychological reaction to ongoing life-threatening situa...

Background: Perceived social support is an established predictor of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after exposure to a traumatic event. Gender is an important factor that could differentiate responses to social support, yet this has been little explored. Symptoms of complex PTSD are also common following trauma but have been under-researched...

Background Evidence suggests that men who have sex with men experience heightened risk for stressor-related mental health issues. This may be exacerbated among those who engage in chemsex; recreational substance use during sex. Valid assessment of adjustment difficulties, and risk factors associated with these, is needed to better understand these...

Objective: Among forcibly displaced people, maternal trauma and stress have been implicated in poor child socioemotional outcomes via intergenerational trauma transmission. This study explored the role of maternal postmigration living difficulties (PMLD) in the pathway linking maternal trauma, trauma-related psychopathology, and child socioemotiona...

Hintergrund: Im Rahmen der ICD-11 Revision wurde die Einführung einer Diagnose der Kontinuierlichen Traumatischen Belastungsstörung (KonTBS) im Kapitel der spezifisch belastungsbezogenen Störungen diskutiert, jedoch aufgrund unzureichender empirischer Evidenz zurückgestellt. Derzeitige Kriege machen uns hingegen verstärkt darauf aufmerksam, dass si...

Childhood maltreatment (CM) is thought to be associated with altered responses to social stimuli and interpersonal signals. However, limited evidence exists that CM is linked to larger comfortable interpersonal distance (CID) – the physical distance humans prefer towards others during social interactions. However, no previous study has investigated...

Background Adjustment Disorder (AjD) is a frequent diagnosis in psychological and psychiatric consultations. Recently, the ICD-11 has introduced preoccupation and failure to adapt as core symptoms of AjD. However, empirical research that explores the various possible manifestations of preoccupation and failure to adapt in AjD patients is sparse. Th...

Introduction: Cultural factors were shown to be particularly relevant for the development and expression of posttraumatic stress. Recently, the concept of cultural scripts of trauma has been introduced, which proposes that trauma sequelae elements may be sequentially linked and specifically associated with cultural factors. Furthermore, a cascade m...

The aim of this article is to summarize the current state of research on the effectiveness of psychotherapeutic treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The results of current meta-analyses and trend-setting individual studies are summarized and the most important forms of intervention are explained. The psychotherapeutic treatment method...

Background: With the introduction of the ICD-11 into clinical practice, the reliable distinction between Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) becomes paramount. The semi-structured clinician-administered International Trauma Interview (ITI) aims to close this gap in clinical and research settings. O...

Background The novel concept of cultural scripts of trauma sequelae captures culture-specific expressions of posttraumatic distress (e.g., cognitive, emotional, interpersonal, psychosomatic changes) and their temporal associations. Cultural scripts of trauma sequelae complement pan-cultural (etic) diagnoses, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (P...

Zusammenfassung Hintergrund Für die Beschreibung von depressionsartigen psychischen Beschwerden in verschiedenen kulturellen Weltregionen hat sich das Konzept der kulturellen Skripte als sehr nützlich erwiesen. Der Beitrag stellt erstmals das Galaxienmodell und dessen Umsetzung in der Modellvorstellung der kulturellen Skripte theoretisch vor und ve...

Background The concept of cultural scripts has proven to be very useful for the description of depression-like psychological complaints in different cultural regions of the world. This article is the first to theoretically present the galaxy model and its implementation in the model of cultural scripts and links it to cultural-psychological value r...

Background: Traumatic stress among forcibly displaced people has a variety of adverse consequences beyond individual mental health, including implications for poor socioemotional developmental outcomes for their children post-displacement. Objective: This study explored the intergenerational transmission of maternal ICD-11 Complex Posttraumatic Str...

Objective: Belsky’s parenting model provides insight into the relationship between parental psychological status and parenting behaviors. However, little is known about the unique associations of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms with specific parenting behaviors. This study aimed to assess the associations of PTSD symptoms and three ty...

Objective: This study is aimed to test the symptoms network of International Classification of Diseases, 11th Revision (ICD-11) complex posttraumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) symptoms, using data collected from Ukrainian civilians during the 2022 Russia–Ukraine war. Findings can inform our understanding of the stress response in individuals exposed...

Large-scale traumatic events have the potential to trigger psychological distress, particularly among those in the affected areas. However, the manifestation of psychological distress may vary across different types of disasters. This study thus aimed to compare the symptoms network structure of psychological distress as assessed by the Kessler Psy...

Die aktualisierte 11. Version der Internationalen statistischen Klassifikation der Krankheiten (ICD-11) brachte eine Reihe bedeutender Änderungen in der Konzeptualisierung der belastungsbezogenen psychischen Störungen mit sich. Dieser Beitrag benennt die wichtigsten Unterschiede zwischen den Belastungsfolgestörungen des Erwachsenenalters in ICD-11...

Background: The university years are associated with a variety of stressors, and recently, COVID-19 has presented an additional burden on students’ mental well-being. As mental health manifestations of stressors may differ between countries, this study compared students from Switzerland and the Republic of Georgia regarding the burden of stressors...

Childhood maltreatment (CM) is thought to be associated with altered responses to socialstimuli and interpersonal signals. Correspondingly, first studies found that CM is linked tolarger comfortable interpersonal distance (CID). However, studies were limited in statisticalpower and only examined individuals from the European region. Moreover, littl...

Background: There is cumulative evidence of the importance of exploring the change of dynamics between symptoms over time as reflective of consolidation of psychopathology. Aims: To explore the interactions between symptoms of ICD-11 adjustment disorder before and after the second lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel and identify the most...

Background: International Classification of Diseases, 11th revision (ICD-11) adjustment disorder (AjD) is characterized by two main symptom clusters: preoccupation with the stressor and failure to adapt to the stressor. The network analytic approach provides important information on the structural validity of a disorder and reveals which symptoms...

This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Revised Sense of Coherence (SOC-R) in Argentina, which assesses the general ability to perceive life phenomena as connected and to balance positive and negative appraisals of life experiences. A total of 575 people participated in the study with ages between 18 a...

Childhood maltreatment (CM) is linked to impairments in various domains of social functioning. Here, we argue that it is critical to identify factors that underlie impaired social functioning as well as processes that mediate the beneficial health effects of positive relationships in individuals exposed to CM. Key research recommendations are prese...

Die Anpassungsstörung ist eine häufig diagnostizierte psychische Störung und bezeichnet eine maladaptive Reaktion auf ein kritisches, in der Regel nicht traumatisches Lebensereignis. Spezifische Hauptsymptomgruppen sind gemäss ICD-11 Präokkupationen und Fehlanpassungssymptome. Da es nur wenige störungsspezifische, validierte Interventionen für die...

Adjustment disorders are maladaptive reactions to critical, non-traumatic life events. Such life events can be both single events such as a relationship breakup or job loss, as well as chronic severe burdens such as poverty, migration, or a serious physical illness. In the ICD-11, the adjustment disorder is classified in the new chapter of disorder...

This chapter provides an overview of different psychological, psychotherapeutic and pharmacological interventions for adjustment disorder that have been developed and evaluated for this frequently occurring stress-related disorder. Interventions that have been designed according to adjustment disorder definitions in DSM-5, ICD-11 or its previous ed...

Background Multiple psychological consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak and quarantine have been described. However, there is a lack of global conceptualization. We argue that the stressful aspects of the situation, the multiple environmental consequences of the outbreak, and the diversity of symptoms observed in such a situation, suggest that Adju...

Background: Existing research on post-traumatic sequelae suggests a positive association between fatalism and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, the associations between fatalism and the new ICD-11 diagnosis of complex PTSD (CPTSD) have never been explored before. Objective: The current study explored the association bet...

In individuals with a history of child maltreatment (CM), impairments in many domains of social functioning are well-documented but poorly understood. We summarize evidence for the detrimental effects of CM on social functioning and present key research recommendations focused on: 1. Identifying alterations in specific inter- and intra- personal pr...

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has confronted humanity with an ongoing biopsychosocial stressor, imposing multifaceted challenges to individuals and societies. Particularly, the pandemic reflects an ongoing, potentially life-threatening danger to self and others, which may instigate acute stress symptoms (ASS). This study utilized a network...

Background: Occupational burdens such as bullying, work overload or job loss can be understood as critical, potentially serious life events. Methods: On admission (t1) and discharge (t2) patients of a German psychosomatic rehab clinic were examined regarding ICD-11 adjustment disorder symptoms (ADNM-20), as measurement for psychological strain. The...

Objectives Depression is a prevalent outcome of traumatic experiences, such as combat and war captivity. This study explores the heterogeneity of changes over time and assesses the contribution of trauma exposure (combat vs. war captivity), hardiness, and social support for depression trajectories. Methods Two groups of Israeli veterans were asses...

Background Adjustment disorder is one of the most widespread mental disorders worldwide. In ICD-11, adjustment disorder is characterised by two main symptom clusters: preoccupation with the stressor and failure to adapt. A network analytic approach has been applied to most ICD-11 stress-related disorders. However, no study to date has explored the...

Background: The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K-6) has been used worldwide in community epidemiological surveys and served as a screening measure for serious mental illness in the general population. We take a novel approach by examining the symptoms network of the K-6 and the exploration of differences between three types of disasters: Nat...

Zusammenfassung Ziel Es ist davon auszugehen, dass eine komplexe Posttraumatische Belastungsstörung (kPTBS) nach ICD-11 die Betroffenen auch im beruflichen Bereich beeinträchtigt. Die vorliegende Arbeit untersucht daher, ob zwischen Patienten mit positivem Screening auf eine kPTBS, Patienten mit positivem Screening auf eine PTBS und Patienten mit n...

Background Symptom network analysis has become an essential tool for researchers and clinicians investigating the structure of mental disorders. Two methods have been used; one relies on partial correlations, and the second relies on zero order correlations with forced-directed algorithm. This combination was used to examine symptom connections for...

Posttraumatisches Wachstum beschreibt positive psychologische Veränderungen, die aus dem Umgang mit hoch belastenden Erlebnissen resultieren. Da Grund zur Annahme besteht, dass sich Posttraumatisches Wachstum über die Zeit hinweg verändert, gibt dieser Beitrag einen Überblick über die internationale Literatur zum posttraumatischen Wachstum aus eine...

Background: A growing number of studies report that the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in diverse aversive psychological reactions and created a global mental health crisis. However, the specific mechanisms underlying the negative emotional reactions as well as the differences between countries are only beginning to be explored. The present study e...

Background After its redefinition in ICD-11, adjustment disorder (AjD) comprises two core symptom clusters of preoccupations and failure to adapt to the stressor. Only a few studies investigate the course of AjD over time and the definition of six months until the remission of the disorder is based on little to no empirical evidence. The aim of the...

This study explored trajectories of marital adjustment, including overall, affection, satisfaction, cohesion and consensus, in 197 middle-aged Israeli spouses who had been married for an average of 34 years. As military conscription in Israel is mandatory, all men in this study are military veterans. The main aims of the study were to explore the t...

Trauma survivors who suffer from posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) are known to experience impairments in sexual satisfaction. However, the negative effects of PTSS are not limited to the primary survivors, as they can lead to secondary PTSS in their spouses as well. The implications of secondary PTSS in the sexuality of couples remain unknown....

Purpose Among the most prevalent and adverse sequalae of traumatic experiences are negative world assumptions (WAs), which describe trauma-related negative cognitions regarding the self, the world, and others. Even though a wealth of studies has shown intrapersonal associations between negative WAs and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), there ha...

Die Anpassungsstörung stellt eine der häufigsten psychischen Störungen in der klinischen Praxis dar. Sie tritt oft auch als Folge körperlicher Erkrankungen oder größerer operativer Eingriffe auf. Kardiologische Patienten haben ein erhöhtes Risiko, eine Anpassungsstörung zu entwickeln. Bisher ist es allerdings unklar, welche Aspekte einer Herzerkran...

Despite increasing interest in the mental health of aging veterans, the pathogenic and salutogenic ramifications of war have not been investigated among aging veterans who received decorations of valor. Filling this gap, 73 Israeli decorated veterans (DVs) and 73 non-decorated veterans (n-DVs) (Mage = 68.5) were assessed for posttraumatic stress sy...

Background: Latinx immigrants are exposed to multiple stressors before, during, and after migration. However, most past research has assumed the effects of these stressors are uniform across Latinx groups despite considerable within-group variation. The purpose of this study was to (a) assess the moderating effects of several risk and protective f...

Background: The 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases includes a new chapter of stress-related disorders and presents two distinct sibling conditions: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex PTSD (CPTSD). Studies show that PTSD and CPTSD are associated with different levels of symptom burden, comorbidity and functio...

Avoidant attachment is associated with numerous negative interpersonal outcomes. The current study tested whether self-perceptions of impostorism intensify negative interpersonal outcomes of attachment-related avoidance. One hundred and twenty-nine male Israeli veterans of the 1973 Yom Kippur War were assessed using self-report measures of attachme...

Background: Adjustment disorder (AjD) is one of the most frequently used diagnoses in psychiatry but a diagnostic definition for AjD was only introduced in release of the ICD-11. This study sought to develop and validate a new measure operationalizing the ICD-11's narrative description of AjD, and to determine the current rate of people meeting th...

Adjustment Disorder (AjD) represents a healthcare paradox. On the one hand, it is one of the most diagnosed mental disorders worldwide. On the other hand, AjD and its possible treatment options remain a severely neglected field of research. In this context, we developed a self-guided online intervention for adjustment problems, named ZIEL, and test...

Background: Latinx immigrants are exposed to multiple stressors before, during, and after migration. However, most past research has assumed the effects of these stressors are uniform across Latinx groups despite considerable within-group variation. The purpose of this study was to (a) assess the moderating effects of several risk and protective fa...

Background: The 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases includes a new chapter of stress-related disorders and presents two distinct sibling conditions: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and complex PTSD (cPTSD). Studies show that PTSD and cPTSD are associated with different levels of functional impairment but have not yet...

Background: Transplant patients are seriously affected by stress due to their illness, long-term medical treatment and lifestyle changes. Psychological burden on family members and partners, however, is so far little studied. Aim of this study is to investigate the psychological and social burden on transplant patients and their relatives. Furtherm...

Adjustment disorder (AD) is one of the most frequent mental health conditions after stressful life experiences in the medical setting. The diagnosis has been conceptually redefined in International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) and now includes specific symptoms of preoccupations and failure to adapt. The current study assesses the prevalence...

Wenn ein nahestehender Mensch ein Trauma erlebt, ist dies auch für Angehörige oft schwer zu ertragen. Durch den ständigen Kontakt mit der posttraumatischen Symptomatik können sich psychische Symptome entwickeln, die jenen der Betroffenen selbst sehr ähnlich sind: Alpträume, erhöhte Wachsamkeit, sowie Vermeidung von Trigger, die Erinnerungen an das...

Die Anpassungsstörung gilt als Verlegenheitsdiagnose und wurde aufgrund diverser Validitätsprobleme lange Zeit kontrovers diskutiert. Ein neues Störungskonzept im ICD-11 soll den bekannten Schwierigkeiten entgegentreten. Zum ersten Mal werden spezifische Symptome für die Anpassungsstörung definiert.

Als Anpassungsstörung werden maladaptive Reaktionen auf kritische, nichttraumatische Lebensereignisse bezeichnet. Solche Lebensereignisse können sowohl einmalige Belastungen wie ein Beziehungsabbruch oder Arbeitsplatzverlust sein als auch anhaltende schwere Belastungen wie Armut, Migration oder eine gravierende körperliche Erkrankung. Im ICD-11 wir...

Das Kapitel bietet einen Überblick zu unterschiedlichen psychologischen und psychotherapeutischen Interventionen, die spezifisch für diese häufig vorkommende Belastungsfolgestörung entwickelt wurden. Dabei werden Interventionen, die nach den Konzeptualisierungen des DSM-5 wie auch nach den Vorschlägen für die diagnostische Kategorie der Anpassungss...

Capacity limitations (Mini-ICF-APP-S) and complex post-traumatic stress disorder Background: According to the bio-psycho-social illness concept, chronic illness manifest not only in disorder-specific symptoms but have further consequences such as illness-related capacity restrictions and disability (Linden, 2016, 2017). The 11th revision to the I...

Background: Subjective age (SA) is an indicator of aging that has been empirically associated with health impediments and hindered longevity. Studies show that adverse life events may result in relatively older SA, but have not addressed the differential contribution of life events across the lifespan and the course of posttraumatic psychopathology...

Hintergrund: Organtransplantierte Patienten sind durch ihre Erkrankungen, die Wartezeit und langfristige medizinische Behandlungen vielen Belastungen ausgesetzt. Bisher wenig untersucht ist die psychische Belastung ihrer Angehörigen, die für die Patienten eine wichtige Ressource bei der Bewältigung ihrer Erkrankung darstellen. In dieser Studie soll...

Hintergrund: Krankheiten manifestieren sich neben Symptomen auch in Fähigkeitsbeeinträchtigungen im Sine der International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). Mit der ICD-11 wird die kPTBS als neue Diagnosekategorie eingeführt. Diese Studie untersucht PTBS- und kPTBS-spezifische Unterschiede in Fähigkeitsbeeinträchtigungen....

The present study investigates whether secondary traumatization (i.e., family history of Holocaust survival and secondary exposure to captivity) is implicated in subjective age. Women exposed to different levels of secondary traumatization (N = 177) were assessed. Analyses of variance (ANOVAs) revealed that a Holocaust background and husband's capt...

Transplant patients are affected by stress due to their illness, long-term medical treatment and lifestyle changes. The psychological burden on family members and partners is so far little studied. The aim of this study is to investigate the psychological burden on transplant patients and their relatives and how the relationship affects the percept...

Posttraumatic growth (PTG), the positive psychological transformations that follow traumatic events, affects both direct survivors (primary PTG) and their significant others (secondary PTG). Though primary and secondary PTG have been widely investigated in the literature, their long-term trajectories decades after a traumatic event, especially as s...

Objective: Long-term trajectories of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may fluctuate over time and typically conform to four heterogeneous patterns: resilience, recovery, delayed-onset, and chronic symptomatology. However, such fluctuations are typically short ranged and have rarely been investigated over the course of decades after the trauma....

The aftermath of war-related trauma may entail psychological devastation and is typically accompanied by various deleterious phenomena. These include, but are not limited to, high rates of loneliness. However, trauma may also result in positive outcomes such as personal, spiritual, and relational prosperity, which are typically considered under the...

Previous studies suggest that attachment insecurities may increase after trauma exposure, an effect documented only at a group level. This study explores the heterogeneity of changes over time and examines the associations of the nature of the traumatic event (inter-personal and nonpersonal), and its consequences (posttraumatic stress disorder [PTS...

Research indicates that posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) induced by war trauma may be transmitted to veterans’ wives and offspring. Nevertheless, the interplay between family members has not been accounted for in such processes. Taking a family systems perspective (Minuchin, 1974), this presentation will focus on the role that wives’/mothers’ s...

Presentation of a newly developed unguided intervention for adjustment disorders.