The Role of Experiential Avoidance and Mindfulness in Predicting the Symptoms of Stress Disorder after Exposure to Trauma in Traumatized People Supported by Emdad Committee and Bonyade Shahid Organization of Gilan Gharb in the First Half of 2014

Avoidance of thoughts related to traumatic events in traumatized people can play a role in incidence and persistence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Given the importance of this issue, the current study was conducted in order to determine the role of experiential avoidance and mindfulness in predicting the symptoms of the PTSD in people exposed to trauma. In this descriptive study, 100 subjects were selected through the stratified random sampling from traumatized people who are supported by Emdad Committee and Bonyade Shahid organization located in Gilan Gharb city. Mississippi Scale for PTSD, Acceptance and Action Questionnaire and Mindfulness Questionnaire were used for gathering data. Collected data were analyzed by Pearson’s correlation coefficient test and multiple linear regression. The correlation results showed that the symptoms of PTSD have positive relationship with experiential avoidance (r=0.768; p<0.001) and negative relationship with total score of mindfulness(r=-0.351; p<0.001) and components of observing (r=-0.328; p<0.001), mindful describing (r=-0.420; p<0.001), non-judgmental acceptance (r=-0.263; p=0.009). The results of linear regression analysis showed that 63% of variance of posttraumatic symptoms was positively explained by experiential avoidance and negatively by mindfulness (mindful describing). The results of the current study show that the avoidance of thoughts related to the traumatic events and low mindfulness can play a role in predicting the symptoms of PTSD in traumatized people.