Research on violence has highlighted the role of trait negative affect in reactive aggressive behavior. Emotion dysregulation is a multidimensional construct reflecting maladaptive ways in which a person experiences and responds to emotional states, and has also been empirically linked to aggression. This study sought to test the hypothesis that multiple facets of emotion dysregulation would mediate the relationship between negative affect and physical aggression in a nonclinical sample. An additional aim was to examine the moderating effect of sex in the relationship between negative affect and aggression, and whether mediators differ as a function of sex. Three-hundred and eighteen participants completed measures of physical aggression, difficulties in emotion regulation, and negative affect. Results showed that sex moderated the relationship between negative affect and physical aggression, and emotion dysregulation fully mediated the relationship between these variables in both males and females. While difficulty inhibiting impulsive behavior when distressed was a significant mediator across sexes, difficulties with emotional awareness demonstrated a mediation effect only in males. Findings provide preliminary support for the facets of emotion dysregulation that are important in understanding the negative affect -physical aggression association in males and females.

The authors discuss the strength and limitations of the program as well as potential areas of future research.

Stalking is a prevalent issue that is often underreported and underdiscussed both in the general population and in clinical settings. Among mental health professionals, 6%-11% of providers will be stalked by a patient during their career. Stalking has a considerable negative impact on both the personal and professional lives of these individuals that is compounded by systemic and individual factors. Many health care organizations lack well-defined procedures on how to manage stalking, and mental health professionals have been found to have minimal training in how to address stalking behavior. Ethical guidelines across multiple health care disciplines emphasize avoiding harm and maintaining patient confidentiality. Although state licensing boards allow exceptions to confidentiality as mandated or permitted by law, these state laws may offer little protection to the mental health professional being stalked by his or her patient. Failing to address stalking behaviors could be detrimental to both current and future providers as well as preventing the stalker from receiving modification of problematic behavior. General models of stalking management have been offered in the past, but few address the specific challenges associated with the stalking of mental health professionals by their patients. The authors present 2 vignettes to demonstrate the common management challenges of these cases. The authors propose a dual pathway, 3-tiered model of stalking management that adopts a public health approach to guide interventions both on the individual provider and systemic level. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.

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