Diversity in emotion regulation strategy use: Resilience against posttraumatic stress disorder

Alainna Wen; Uma Rao; Kerry L Kinney; K Lira Yoon; Matthew Morris

doi:10.1016/j.brat.2023.104441

Diversity in emotion regulation strategy use: Resilience against posttraumatic stress disorder

Behav Res Ther. 2024 Jan:172:104441. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2023.104441. Epub 2023 Nov 28.

Authors

Alainna Wen¹, Uma Rao², Kerry L Kinney³, K Lira Yoon⁴, Matthew Morris⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, 760 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame, 390 Corbett Family Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA. Electronic address: aaqwen@g.ucla.edu.
² Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California Irvine, 5251 California Avenue, Irvine, CA, 92617, USA; Children's Hospital of Orange County, 1201 West La Veta Ave, Orange, CA, 92868, USA. Electronic address: umar@hs.uci.edu.
³ Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of Mississippi Medical Center, 2500 North State Street, Jackson, MS, 39216, USA; Department of Psychological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN, 37240, USA. Electronic address: kerry.kinney@vanderbilt.edu.
⁴ Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD, 21250, USA. Electronic address: lyoon@umbc.edu.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of Mississippi Medical Center, 2500 North State Street, Jackson, MS, 39216, USA; Department of Anesthesiology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 1211 Medical Center Drive, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA. Electronic address: matthew.c.morris@vumc.org.

PMID: 38091721
DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2023.104441

Abstract

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with impaired emotion regulation (ER). ER diversity, the variety, prevalence, and relative abundance of ER strategy use, may provide resilience against PTSD. This study examined the prospective relation between ER diversity and PTSD, while accounting for negative and positive life events, in interpersonal violence (IPV) survivors. IPV-exposed women with PTSD onset (PTSD; n = 22), without PTSD onset (IPV; n = 37), and non-traumatized control participants (NTC; n = 41) rated their ER strategy use and experience of negative and positive life events. The ER diversity index differentiated the participant groups. Importantly, group differences in ER diversity depended on the experience of life events. When experiencing fewer positive life events and more negative life events, the IPV and NTC groups, but not the PTSD group, demonstrated higher ER diversity. Thus, greater ER diversity during periods with more negative life events and fewer positive life events may play a protective role against PTSD onset for IPV survivors.

Keywords: Emotion regulation; Emotion regulation diversity; Life events; Posttraumatic stress disorder; Resilience.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Emotional Regulation*
Female
Humans
Resilience, Psychological*
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic* / psychology
Survivors / psychology

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding