Threat Appraisals, Neuroticism, and Intrusive Memories: A Robust Mediational Approach with Replication

Background: The appraisal of a stressor influences how we adapt to it. We used an experimental paradigm to test and replicate the effects of threat appraisals on subsequent intrusive memories, as well as their moderation by neuroticism. Method: In three studies (total N = 562; 77.6% female; mean age = 18.45), we randomly assigned participants to an aversive or control video, assessed threat appraisals of the video, and assessed intrusive memories of the video at one, three, five, and seven days. Results: Using a robust causal mediational framework, we found that threat appraisals fully mediated the effect of the video on intrusive memories (studies 1 – 3), and for people higher in neuroticism, the causal mediational pathway was stronger (study 1 and 2). Conclusions: These findings indicate threat appraisals have causal effects on subsequent intrusive memories and neuroticism enhances this effect, lending empirical support to appraisal theories of posttraumatic stress disorder.