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.