The Moderating Effects of Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies on the Relationship of between Adult Attachment and Forgiveness

Abstract Background: Childhood trauma (CT) is considered as a highly risk factor for depression. Although the pathway of CT to depression, especially the mediating or moderating effects of cognitive emotion regulation strategies (CERS) or neuroticism, have investigated by several studies, the results were inconsistent and there is a paucity of full models among these interactive factors. This study aims to examine the relationships among CT, adaptive / maladaptive CERS, neuroticism and current depression symptoms in university students.Methods: We recruited 3009 students, aged averagely 18.00 (SD = 0.772) years, from universities in Hunan province in 2019. A moderated mediation model was built to examine the relationships among CT, CERS, neuroticism and current depression using the SPSS PROCESS 3.5 macro. We conducted bootstrapping of regression estimates with 5,000 samples and 95% confidence interval.Results:Results revealed that the significant mediating effects of adaptive CERS (β = 0.0117; 95% CI: 0.0061 to 0.0181) and maladaptive CERS (β = 0.0278; 95% CI: 0.0161 to 0.0401) between CT and depression were observed, accounting for 5.690% and 13.521% of the total effect respectively. Then, moderated mediation analyses results showed that neuroticism simultaneously moderated the direct effect of CT on current depression (β = 0.035; 95% CI: 0.001 to 0.009), and the indirect effects of CT on current depression through adaptive CERS (adaptive CERS – current depression: β = -0.034; 95% CI: -0.007 to -0.001) and maladaptive CERS (maladaptive CERS – current depression: β = 0.157; 95% CI: 0.017 to 0.025). However, the moderating effects of neuroticism in the indirect paths from CT to adaptive CERS (β = 0.037; 95% CI: 0.000 to 0.014) and maladaptive CERS (β = -0.001; 95% CI: -0.006 to 0.005) were not significant.Conclusions: This study provides powerful evidences through a large university students sample for the mediating role of adaptive / maladaptive CERS and the moderating role of neuroticism between CT and current depression. This manifests that cognitive emotion regulation may be a vital factor for people who suffered from CT and current depression. Furthermore, the influence of neuroticism in this process cannot be ignored.

Download Full-text

Link between History of Childhood Maltreatment and Emotion Dysregulation in Adults Suffering from Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder or Borderline Personality Disorder

Biomedicines ◽

10.3390/biomedicines9101469 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (10) ◽

pp. 1469

Author(s):

Eva Rüfenacht ◽

Eléonore Pham ◽

Rosetta Nicastro ◽

Karen Dieben ◽

Roland Hasler ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Emotion Regulation ◽

Childhood Maltreatment ◽

Emotional Abuse ◽

Emotion Dysregulation ◽

Emotion Regulation Strategies ◽

Cognitive Emotion Regulation ◽

Emotion Reactivity ◽

History Of ◽

Regulation Strategies ◽

The Relationship

Childhood maltreatment (CM) may have a long-term effect on emotion regulation. This study aimed to explore the relationship between CM and emotion dysregulation (ED) in a heterogeneous population. Four hundred seventy French-speaking outpatients (N = 279 ADHD, N = 70 BPD, N = 60 ADHD + BPD, N = 61 clinical controls) completed the Emotion Reactivity Scale (ERS), the Cognitive Emotional Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ), the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), and the Relationship Scales Questionnaire (RSQ). Reports of childhood maltreatment experiences were significantly associated with increased levels of emotion reactivity in all our groups and in the whole population, with a greater use of non-adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies and insecure attachment patterns. Emotional abuse showed the strongest effect. Further analysis indicated that an anxious attachment style significantly mediated the relationship between CM and the use of non-adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies and emotion reactivity. The results of our study suggest an impact of CM on ED and a potentially marked effect of emotional abuse. They also indicate a potentially mediating role of insecure attachment in the relationship between a history of childhood abuse and emotion reactivity and a higher use of non-adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies in adulthood.

Download Full-text