Role of positive emotion regulation strategies in the association between childhood trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder among trauma-exposed individuals who use substances

ABSTRACT

Background

The co-occurrence of childhood trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is highly prevalent and clinically significant. Existing research emphasizes the role of emotion regulation in the relation between childhood trauma and PTSD. Yet, research in this area has almost exclusively examined the influence of strategies aimed at regulating negative emotions, such as anger and sadness.

Objective

To extend existing research, the current study examined underlying roles of strategies for regulating positive emotions (i.e., self- and emotion-focused positive rumination and positive dampening) in the association between childhood trauma severity and PTSD symptoms.

Participants and Setting

Participants were 320 trauma-exposed community individuals who reported past 30-day substance use (M_age= 35.78, 50.3% men, 81.6% white).

Method

Analyses examined whether childhood trauma severity was indirectly related to PTSD symptoms through self-focused positive rumination, emotion-focused positive rumination, and positive dampening.

Results

Positive dampening, but not positive self- and emotion-focused positive rumination, indirectly explained associations between childhood trauma severity and PTSD symptoms (B = .17, SE = .03, 95% CI [.12, .24]).

Conclusions

These findings highlight the potential utility of targeting positive dampening in the treatment of PTSD symptoms among individuals who use substances with a history of childhood trauma.

KEYWORDS:

• Childhood trauma
• posttraumatic stress disorder
• positive emotion regulation
• self-focused positive rumination
• emotion-focused positive rumination
• positive dampening

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, Nicole H. Weiss, Ph.D., upon reasonable request.

Acknowledgements

The research described here was supported by a grant from the University of Rhode Island’s Office of Undergraduate Research and Innovation. Work on this paper was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health awarded to authors SRF (F31DA051167) and NHW (K23DA039327). Author NHW also acknowledges the support from the Center for Biomedical Research and Excellence (COBRE) on Opioids and Overdose funded by the National Institute on General Medical Sciences (P20GM125507). Opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Institutes of Health.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1 The pattern and strength of findings did not change with the inclusion or exclusion of covariates.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Institutes of Health [grant number: F31DA051167, K23DA039327, P20GM125507].