From Inkblots to Eye Movements: A Multi-Method Investigation of Trauma

BACKGROUND: Personality assessment in trauma-related conditions has rarely used multi-method approaches, and research on trauma-personality links remains sparse. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to identify presumably stable behavioral manifestations of self-reported traumatic experiences by inspecting eye-tracking and Rorschach responses. METHOD: Ninety-three Italian volunteers completed the International Trauma Exposure Measure (ITEM), the Rorschach Performance Assessment System (R-PAS), and a free-viewing eye-tracking task contrasting neutral and negative stimuli. Correlations were examined among ITEM scores, selected R-PAS variables, and dwell time as an attentional bias index. RESULTS: Self-reported trauma was associated with more complex and disturbed Rorschach content. More importantly, both self-report and Rorschach data correlated with a tendency to avoid emotionally charged stimuli in the eye-tracking task. CONCLUSIONS: Self-reported trauma may be reflected in behavioral patterns captured by performance-based and eye-tracking measures, offering insight into trauma-related attention and response tendencies.