The quality of interpersonal relationships moderates the association between PTSD symptoms in refugee children and their ability to remember traumatic events

Introduction: Understanding the association between posttraumatic symptomatology and memory is crucial in psychotherapy research regarding posttraumatic conditions, since recalling and reenacting the traumas represents a crucial step in elaborating them. However, literature shows that accessing traumatic memories is more difficult precisely for individuals with higher levels of traumatization, probably due to dissociative phenomena. The study aimed to investigate the relationship between level of posttraumatic symptoms and the number of traumatic memories, testing whether this association is influenced by the quality of interpersonal relationships. The hypothesis was that a higher resilience in interpersonal relations would reduce the activation of dissociative processes underlying the recall of traumatic events. Methods: The study involved 133 Syrian children (Age: M = 10.9; SD = 2.03) refugee in Lebanon because of the war in their country. The children conducted a workshop in which, guided by a psychologist, they tried to recall their biographical memories by posing on a rope representing their lives a flower for each positive memory, or a stone for each negative memory (traumatic or nontraumatic). They also completed the Post Traumatic Stress Reaction checklist, that evaluates PTSD symptoms, and the Child and Youth Resilience Measure, that assesses resilience factors. Results: The level of PTSD symptomatology correlated positively with the amount of negative traumatic memories (r = .336, p < .001). This correlation was moderated by the level of interpersonal resilience: the more children gave high scores on the family and peer resilience factors the more positive this association was, while in children with low family and peer resilience scores (- 1 SD) the level of PTSD symptoms didn’t predict the quantity of traumatic memories. Low interpersonal resilience, thus, seemed to negatively affect the ability to recall traumatic events in children with posttraumatic symptoms. Discussion: The results suggest that professionals who offer PTSD treatments should pay special attention to children from backgrounds with lower interpersonal resilience. The promotion of this component of resilience is a central and potential resource to be fostered where possible, to overcome dissociative factors that lead to non-remembering and thus obstructing the therapeutic work.