Examining the Association Between Emotion Regulation Difficulties and Probable Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Within a Sample of African Americans

Abstract

This study examined the associations between emotion dysregulation and probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among 180 African American undergraduates enrolled in a historically black college in the southern United States. Trauma-exposed participants with probable PTSD reported significantly higher levels of overall emotion dysregulation and the specific dimensions of lack of emotional acceptance, difficulties engaging in goal-directed behavior when upset, difficulties controlling impulsive behaviors when distressed, and limited access to effective emotion regulation strategies than participants without Criterion A traumatic exposure and those with Criterion A traumatic exposure but no PTSD (controlling for age and negative affect). Furthermore, results indicated that participants with Criterion A traumatic exposure but no PTSD were significantly less likely to report difficulties controlling impulsive behaviors when distressed and limited access to effective emotion regulation strategies than participants without Criterion A traumatic exposure (controlling for age and negative affect). These findings extend extant research on the role of emotion dysregulation in PTSD, thus providing support for the relevance of emotion dysregulation to PTSD among African American adults in particular.

Emotion dysregulation mediates the relationship between trauma exposure, post-migration living difficulties and psychological outcomes in traumatized refugees

“…PTSD, depression, and explosive anger. These findings are consistent with previous research that has indicated that emotion dysregulation is associated with PTSD (Amstadter and Vernon, 2008;Kulkarni et al, 2013;Lilly and Hong Phylice Lim, 2013;Tull et al, 2007;Weiss et al, 2012), and depression following exposure to trauma Klemanski et al, 2012;Lilly and Hong Phylice Lim, 2013), and mediates the relationship between exposure to interpersonal trauma and psychological symptoms Stevens et al, 2013). This is also consistent with studies finding that emotion dysregulation is related to anger and aggression (Besharat et al, 2013;Mauss et al, 2007;Memedovic et al, 2010;.…”

“…Emotion regulation can be defined as the individual's capacity to monitor, evaluate, and modify emotional reactions in a manner that facilitates adaptive functioning (Gratz and Roemer, 2004). Research has indicated that individuals suffering from PTSD have impaired capacity to regulate emotions (Amstadter and Vernon, 2008;Kulkarni et al, 2013;Lilly and Hong Phylice Lim, 2013;Tull et al, 2007;Weiss et al, 2012). Further, difficulties in emotion regulation have been reported to mediate the association between exposure to childhood abuse and symptoms of borderline personality disorder (Gaher et al, 2013) and PTSD (Stevens et al, 2013), as well as between betrayal trauma and symptoms of PTSD, depression, and anxiety .…”

The association between nonsuicidal self-injury and the emotional disorders: A meta-analytic review

“…As noted above, emotional disorders are characterized by the frequent experience of negative emotions (e.g., fear, anxiety, sadness), which in turn are maintained and exacerbated by the use of maladaptive avoidant strategies (e.g., Aldao, Nolen-Hoeksema, & Schweizer, 2010;Tull & Roemer, 2007;Weiss et al, 2012). Although a variety of models exist to explain why NSSI occurs, there is consensus that NSSI is most often used to regulate affect, and more specifically, to reduce or escape from aversive affective states, such as anxiety, sadness, or guilt (Chapman, Gratz, & Brown, 2006;Klonsky, 2007;Nock & Prinstein, 2004.…”

Lithium carbonate decreases acute suicidality in posttraumatic stress disorder

“…Higher rates of suicidality in PTSD may be due to the emotion regulation problems which can accompany both PTSD (Weiss et al, 2012) and suicidality. We describe two patients with histories of suicide attempts and primary Axis I diagnosis of PTSD with delayed onset (American Psychiatric Association, 2000), whose suicidality improved significantly after 3-4 weeks of lithium therapy.…”