Shared Pathogeneses of Posttrauma Pathologies: Attachment, Emotion Regulation, and Cognitions

Abstract

Results suggest that disruption in the ability to regulate emotions is the most consistent predictor of mental health in survivors of interpersonal trauma, followed by cognitions regarding the world, self, and others. Treatment implications are discussed.

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;.…”

“…Notably, the relationship between emotion dysregulation and psychopathology appears to be especially prominent in survivors of repeated interpersonal traumatization (Walsh et al, 2011). While the majority of research investigating emotion regulation in trauma survivors has focused on PTSD, there is also evidence that emotion dysregulation contributes to depression in trauma survivors Klemanski et al, 2012;Lilly and Hong Phylice Lim, 2013), as well as in non-trauma exposed individuals (Campbell-Sills et al, 2006;Ehring et al, 2010;Garnefski and Kraaij, 2006). Impairments in emotion regulation have also been linked to anger responses and the perpetration of 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 .…”

Women's Functioning Following an Intervention for Partner Violence: New Knowledge for Clinical Practice from a 7-Year Study

“…Lilly and Lim (2013) suggest that influences on women's functioning have been found in the domains of attachment styles, emotional regulation, and cognitions. Attachment style refers to the degree of security an individual feels in close or intimate relationships.…”

“…This finding is congruent with existing literature. Lilly and Lim (2013) suggested that IPV may lead to emotional deregulation causing inappropriate responses to events and be related to mental health symptoms, such as depression and PTSD.…”