Pathological personality explains individual differences in global emotion dysregulation within the pathway between child maltreatment and severe depressive symptoms.

Abstract

Objective: Global emotion dysregulation mediates the relationship between child maltreatment and severe depressive symptoms; however, there is a lack of research on maladaptive personality traits and their contribution to individual differences in global emotion dysregulation within this conceptual model. The present study tested a preliminary serial mediation model where maladaptive personality traits and global emotion dysregulation mediate the relationship between child maltreatment and severe depressive symptoms. Method: A total of 200 patients with mood disorders (M age = 36.5 years; 54% females) were assessed for maladaptive personality traits (Personality Inventory for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders [5th ed.] Brief Form), global emotion dysregulation (Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale-Short), childhood trauma (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire), and depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-9). Results: Ordinary least squares regression and partial least squares-structural equation modeling revealed a consistent and significant indirect effect of child maltreatment on severe depressive symptoms through negative affectivity, detachment, psychoticism, and global emotion dysregulation. Among child maltreatment types, only emotional abuse had a significant indirect effect on severe depressive symptoms through maladaptive personality traits and global emotion dysregulation, b = 0.50, SE = 0.09, 95% confidence intervals [0.326, 0.694] after controlling for age, gender, and remaining types of child maltreatment. Conclusions: Findings support the view that maladaptive personality traits shed important insights on individual differences in global emotion dysregulation, and this information could aid clinical formulation and treatment of childhood adversity-related psychopathology. Clinical Impact StatementThis study demonstrated that the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.-DSM-5) maladaptive personality traits explain individual differences in emotion dysregulation within the pathway from child maltreatment and depressive symptoms in a large clinical and predominantly Chinese sample. Our results highlight the importance of assessing for DSM-5 maladaptive personality traits to inform clinical formulation of global emotion dysregulation and identify at-risk individuals for severe depression. Further, DSM-5 maladaptive personality traits are associated with other cognitive and interpersonal difficulties that must be considered in treatment planning; emotion dysregulation interventions may include additional therapy modules based on the individual's personality profile.