Getting “Stuck” in the Past: Temporal Orientation and Coping With Trauma

Abstract

The relations between temporal orientation and long-term psychological distress were studied cross-sectionally and longitudinally in 3 samples of traumatized individuals: adult victims of childhood incest, Vietnam War veterans, and residents of 2 southern California communities devastated by fire. Results indicated that a past temporal orientation—focusing attention on prior life experiences—was associated with elevated levels of distress long after the trauma had passed, even when controlling for the degree of rumination reported. Temporal disintegration at the time of the trauma—whereby the present moment becomes isolated from the continuity of past and future time—was associated with a high degree of past temporal orientation over time and subsequent distress. Temporal disintegration was highest among individuals who had experienced the most severe loss, had previously experienced chronic trauma, and had had their identities threatened by their traumatic experience.

Full text

Journal
of
Personality
and
Social Psychology
1998,
Vol.
74, No. 5,
1146-1163Copyright
1998 by the
American Psychological Association,
Inc.
0022-3514/98/53.00
Getting "Stuck"
in the
Past:
Temporal Orientation
and
Coping With Trauma
E. Alison Holman
and
Roxane Cohen Silver
University
of
California, Irvine
The relations between temporal orientation
and
long-term psychological distress were studied cross-
sectionally
and
longitudinally
in 3
samples
of
traumatized individuals: adult victims
of
childhood
incest, Vietnam
War
veterans,
and
residents
of 2
southern California communities devastated
by
fire.
Results indicated that
a
past temporal orientation—focusing attention
on
prior life experiences—
was associated with elevated levels
of
distress long after the trauma
had
passed, even when controlling
for
the
degree
of
rumination reported. Temporal disintegration
at the
time
of the
trauma—whereby
the present moment becomes isolated from
the
continuity
of
past
and
future time—was associated
with
a
high degree
of
past temporal orientation over time
and
subsequent distress. Temporal disinte-
gration
was
highest among individuals
who had
experienced
the
most severe loss,
had
previously
experienced chronic trauma,
and had had
their identities threatened
by
their traumatic experience.
For ages, philosophers have discussed
the
nature
of
time
and
its role
in the
development
of
human consciousness,
self, and
identity
(see
Shero ver, 1975,
for a
review). Over the last century,
psychologists have participated
in
this dialogue
and
have
sug-
gested that perceptions
of
time
are
part
of the
foundation from
which conscious thought
and
behavior emerge (James,
1890;
Kelly, 1955; Lewin, 1942).
As
such, temporal perceptions have
been considered
the
primary context through which humans
understand
and
make sense
of
their life experiences (James,
1890;
Kelly, 1955)
and the
cognitive organizer
of
human behav-
ior (Fraisse, 1963; Zimbardo, 1994).
Although
a
number
of
approaches have been used
in the
definition
and
study
of
temporal perceptions
(see
Fraisse,
1984;
Nuttin, 1985),
two
fundamental
and
related temporal constructs
have received
a
great deal
of
attention. First, temporal perspec-
E. Alison Holman
and
Roxane Cohen Silver, School
of
Social Ecology,
University
of
California, Irvine.
E.
Alison Holman
is
currently
a
visiting
scholar
in the
Psychology Department
at
Stanford University.
Portions
of
this research were presented
at the
102nd Annual Conven-
tion
of the
American Psychological Association,
Los
Angeles, August
1994.
This article
is
based
on the
doctoral dissertation
of E.
Alison
Holman submitted
to the
University
of
California, Irvine.
We
thank
the
members
of the
dissertation committee
for
their thoughtful comments
and suggestions: Linda Levine, Karen Rook,
and Dan
Stokols.
The research reported
in
Study
3 was
supported
by
National Science
Foundation Grant SBR-9403386
and a
National Hazards Research
and
Applications Information Center quick response grant.
We
thank Cheryl
Boon
and
Mary Stones
for
conducting
the
original data collection
for
Study
1;
Suzanne Gates, Jeff Olson, Alan Forsley, Kathy Oliver, Michelle
Mahoney, Kathleen Parker,
and
Gail Dettenmaier
for
their assistance
in
conducting
the
research reported
in
Study
2; and
Suzanne Gates, Robert
Braunstein, Jennifer Feldstein, Nilofar Ghoulian,
and
Lauri Deyhimy
for their assistance
in
conducting Study
3.
Correspondence concerning this article should
be
addressed
to
Roxane
Cohen Silver, Department
of
Psychology
and
Social Behavior, 3340
Social Ecology
TI,
University
of
California, Irvine, California 92697-
7085.
Electronic mail
may be
sent
to
rsilver@uci.edu.
tive
can be
defined
as the
overall span
of
cognitive involvement
across past, present,
and
future life domains
(see
Fraisse,
1963;
Nuttin, 1985). Individuals
can
have
a
temporal perspective that
ranges from extended (e.g., distant past through distant future)
to narrowed (e.g., immediate past
and
present only). Second,
temporal orientation refers
to
cognitive involvement focused
predominantly
on one of
the three time zones (i.e., past, present,
or future;
see De
Voider,
1979;
Nuttin, 1985). Together, these
related temporal perceptions create
an
overarching cognitive
response bias that filters
and
interprets
the
meaning
of
personal
experience.
By
sifting
the
ongoing stream
of
experience
and
awareness into past, present,
and
future domains, this cognitive
bias
is
thought
to
exert
a
powerful influence
on
thought, feeling,
and behavior (Zimbardo, 1994).
In keeping with
the
philosophical assertion that
the
future
dominates human consciousness (Heidegger, 1962; Minkowski,
1970),
psychologists have suggested that
a
future-oriented
tem-
poral perspective guides most psychological processes,
and
that
future expectations play
a
critical role
in
maintaining mental
health
and
well-being (Adler,
1925;
Kelly, 1955; Lewin,
1942;
May,
1958;
McClelland,
1961;
Melges,
1982;
Nuttin, 1985).
Without disputing
the
importance
of
maintaining
a
future-ori-
ented perspective, some theorists simultaneously have empha-
sized
the
benefits
of
integrating past
and
present experience
with future expectations
in
order
to
strengthen personal morale,
enrich one's sense
of self, and
cope effectively with adversity
(Erikson, 1959; Fraisse, 1963; Fraser, 1966; Kelly, 1955; Lewin,
1942;
Melges, 1982).
Although there
is
some empirical evidence supporting these
views,
much
of the
work
in
this area
has
been unsystematic.
For example, conceptual definitions
and
operational measures
of temporal constructs have varied widely across many decades
of research
(see De
Voider, 1979; Wallace
&
Rabin,
1960, for
reviews). Nonetheless, prior research does suggest that tempo-
ral orientation
is
associated with academic achievement (e.g.,
Cottle, 1969;
De
Voider
&
Lens, 1982; Goldrich, 1967; Raynor,
1970),
health behaviors (Rothspan
&
Read, 1996),
and
psycho-
1146
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