This study investigated the associations between peritraumatic dissociation in response to an analogue trauma and susceptibility to the misinformation effect in a general community (Study 1) and trauma-exposed sample (Study 2).

Using a within-person design, participants (Study 1 N = 243; Study 2 N = 101) viewed a trauma film, self-reported peritraumatic dissociation, and received a misinformation narrative containing consistent, misled, and control items. Memory accuracy was assessed via cued recall and recognition.

Across all tests, a significant misinformation effect was found; accuracy was poorer on the misled items than the control or consistent items. Contrary to predictions, greater dissociation was associated with a reduced misinformation effect, although the effect size was small and appeared to reflect poorer accuracy on control and consistent items.

Findings highlight the importance of minimising exposure to suggestive information for both community and trauma-exposed populations and the need for further research exploring the role of trauma-related symptoms and misinformation susceptibility, with the inclusion of sensitivity analysis and measures of source monitoring.