Emotion regulation in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD): Rumination accounts for the association between emotion regulation difficulties and PTSD severity

Abstract

Objective The current study investigated whether rumination accounts for the relationship between multiple aspects of emotion regulation (ER) difficulties and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) severity. Method Participants were 90 community members (43% diagnosed with PTSD; Mage = 26.7, 86% female) who were interviewed using the Clinician‐Administered PTSD Scale‐5 and completed self‐reported measures of ER and rumination. Results The indirect effect of rumination completely accounted for the relationship between overall ER difficulties and PTSD severity. This finding was replicated for three unique aspects of ER (i.e., nonacceptance of negative emotions, impulse control difficulties under emotional distress, and the ability to maintain goal‐oriented behavior under emotional distress). Reverse models testing the indirect effect of ER on the link between rumination and PTSD were nonsignificant. Conclusions Rumination is an important cognitive process linking specific aspects of ER difficulties to PTSD. Clinical interventions focused on improving ER abilities among those with PTSD may benefit from targeting rumination.

Health effects of psychological interventions for worry and rumination: A meta-analysis.

“…This does, however, highlight the need for future research to design carefully controlled studies with robust intervention arms to explicitly investigate further the relationship between PC and subsequent improvements (or otherwise) in physical health outcomes. However, the current findings do support the recent extension of the PC hypothesis to include health behaviours as an additional pathway to disease (see, Clancy et al, 2016;2020). These findings are an important milestone for the extended PC hypothesis, and for the stress literature more generally as they show, for the first time across a range of studies, that effect sizes for PC following randomised experimental manipulations (taken, on average, 41 days after intervention exposure) are positively associated with health behaviours (taken, on average, at 143 days post-intervention).…”

“…Overall, however, these findings are consistent with recent observations suggesting a range of study characteristics, beyond behaviour change techniques, can influence the magnitude of change in health contexts (Prestwich, Kenworthy & Conner, 2017) and thus should be carefully considered within prospective interventions targeting similar or related mechanisms of influence. Surprisingly, few studies in this meta-analysis explicitly targeted rumination, which is notable given its long-standing role in the aetiology of adverse mental health conditions (see, Kraft, 2019;Mezulis, Priess & Hyde, 2011;O'Connor, O'Connor & Marshall, 2007;Nolen-Hoeksema, 2000;Pugach, Campbell & Wisco, 2020;Thomsen et al, 2004). As a result, power issues were present in some of the rumination related analyses and should be therefore interpreted with caution (Cochrane, 2020).…”

Mental Health in Residential Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Moderating Role of Selfobject Needs

“…However, most people undergoing a traumatic event are unlikely to develop lasting symptoms of trauma ( 58 ). We were thus curious as to the role that selfobject needs might play in moderating the association between experience of trauma symptoms and the symptoms of other mood disorders, particularly given the connection between PTSD and emotional reactivity ( 59 ). Although each of the three selfobject needs positively correlated with mental health symptom severity, the correlation with Mirroring need was in general stronger than that with Idealizing and Twinship needs.…”

Health Effects of Psychological Interventions for Worry and Rumination: A Meta-analysis.

“…Overall, however, these findings are consistent with recent observations suggesting a range of study characteristics, beyond behaviour change techniques, can influence the magnitude of change in health contexts (Prestwich, Kenworthy & Conner, 2017) and thus should be carefully considered within prospective interventions targeting similar or related mechanisms of influence. Surprisingly, few studies in this meta-analysis explicitly targeted rumination, which is notable given its long-standing role in the aetiology of adverse mental health conditions (see, Kraft, 2019;Mezulis, Priess & Hyde, 2011;O'Connor, O'Connor & Marshall, 2007;Nolen-Hoeksema, 2000;Pugach, Campbell & Wisco, 2020;Thomsen et al, 2004). As a result, power issues were present in some of the rumination related analyses and should be therefore interpreted with caution (Cochrane, 2020).…”