Seventy-nine female adults reporting a history of childhood sexual (CSA) abuse were assessed to determine the relationship between severity of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and cognitive distortions as part of a larger study involving cognitive processing therapy for sexual abuse. The association between two cognitive measures, the Personal Beliefs and Reactions Scale (PBRS) and World Assumptions Scale (WAS), was also examined. Participants were administered the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS-SX) to determine PTSD status. Significant correlations were found between PTSD severity and all PBRS subscales and the Worthiness of Self Scale on the WAS. Furthermore, three PBRS subscales predicted PTSD severity at a significant level. Significant correlations were found between several PBRS and WAS subscales. Both measures' subscales had low to moderate internal consistency overall. Results on the PBRS and WAS suggest that sexual abuse survivors appear to focus more on self-blame attributions than on distributing attributions between the world and the self.
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