The direct and indirect effects of event centrality, identity, and trauma type on posttraumatic stress disorder among college students in India.

OBJECTIVE

Event centrality, identity, and trauma type may impact the symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), although extant literature is still in nascent stages, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

METHOD: This study examined the direct and indirect effects of event centrality, identity, and trauma type on PTSD among 276 college students in India (Mage = 19.05, SD = 0.91) analyzed using bivariate correlation and mediation analysis using a single group, cross-sectional, exploratory design. Trauma History Questionnaire, Centrality of Events Scale (CES), PTSD Checklist-Civilian-5, and Severity Indices in Personality Problems were used.

RESULTS

Event centrality showed strong correlation (ρ = .798) while self-control showed moderate correlation (ρ = .45) with PTSD symptoms. General disasters were found to be highly correlated with event centrality (ρ = .69) and PTSD symptoms (ρ = .68), while traumatic physical and sexual experiences were moderately correlated (CES: ρ = .42 and PTSD: ρ = .50). Indirect effects were mediated by event centrality and self-control between general disasters and PTSD symptoms (CES: β = 2.85, SE = 0.36, p < .001; self-control: β = 0.61, SE = 0.20, p < .01) and traumatic physical and sexual experiences and PTSD symptoms (CES: β = 1.92, SE = 0.62, p < .005; self-control: β = 01.05, SE = 0.43, p < .05). Direct effects were found between traumatic physical and sexual experiences and PTSD symptoms (β = 4.50, SE = 0.85, p < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

Event centrality and self-control may indirectly mediate the relationship between trauma type and PTSD symptoms. The implications for developing event centrality-focused interventions for PTSD targeting self-control are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).