Emotion Regulation and Distress During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Childhood Abuse

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic may be experienced as traumatogenic and may fuel or exacerbate psychological distress and trauma-related symptoms. Based on trauma research, one might expect that survivors of childhood abuse would be susceptible to these negative outcomes during the pandemic, and that among this population a stronger relation between emotion regulation difficulties and symptomatology would be found. Aiming to explore these suppositions, an online survey was conducted among 710 Israeli adults. Of them, 370 were childhood abuse survivors. A history of childhood abuse, COVID-19-related stressors, overall psychological distress, and peritraumatic stress symptoms during the pandemic were assessed via self-report measures. Participants with a history of childhood abuse had elevated overall psychological distress as well as peritraumatic stress symptoms during the pandemic, compared to nonabused participants, above and beyond demographic characteristics and COVID-19-related stressors. Emotion regulation difficulties were related to elevated psychological distress and peritraumatic stress symptoms among both childhood abuse survivors and nonabused participants. Nonetheless, a history of childhood abuse moderated the relations between the emotion regulation difficulty of being unable to engage in goal-directed behaviors when distressed (on one hand) and mental outcomes (on the other): Although the associations between inability to engage in goal-directed behaviors, overall psychological distress, and peritraumatic stress symptoms were nonsignificant among nonabused participants, they were significant among childhood abuse survivors. The current findings suggest that a history of childhood abuse might be a risk factor for distress in the face of COVID-19, and that childhood abuse survivors would benefit from clinical interventions that promote emotion regulation skills during this ongoing global health crisis.

Stress-related psychopathology during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Emerging evidence suggests that individuals who have experienced childhood adversity may also be at greater risk of developing mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic. Several studies have observed that individuals with a history of child maltreatment or other adversity experiences were more likely to develop anxiety, depression, and PTSD symptoms during the pandemic relative to those without exposure to adversity; this has been observed among adolescents in rural China ( Guo et al, 2020 ), adults in Israel and Germany ( Seitz, Bertsch, & Herpertz, 2021 ; Siegel & Lahav, 2021 ), as well as children, adolescents, and adults in the U.S. ( Gotlib et al, 2021 ; Kalia, Knauft, & Hayatbini, 2020 ). These associations persisted after adjustment for exposure to pandemic-related stressors ( Guo et al, 2020 ; Siegel & Lahav, 2021 ) and pre-pandemic symptoms ( Gotlib et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Several studies have observed that individuals with a history of child maltreatment or other adversity experiences were more likely to develop anxiety, depression, and PTSD symptoms during the pandemic relative to those without exposure to adversity; this has been observed among adolescents in rural China ( Guo et al, 2020 ), adults in Israel and Germany ( Seitz, Bertsch, & Herpertz, 2021 ; Siegel & Lahav, 2021 ), as well as children, adolescents, and adults in the U.S. ( Gotlib et al, 2021 ; Kalia, Knauft, & Hayatbini, 2020 ). These associations persisted after adjustment for exposure to pandemic-related stressors ( Guo et al, 2020 ; Siegel & Lahav, 2021 ) and pre-pandemic symptoms ( Gotlib et al, 2021 ). Few studies have examined whether the association between pandemic-related stressors and psychopathology symptoms is stronger among those with adversity experiences, however.…”

Psychological functioning during the COVID-19 lockdown: The role of exposure to continuous traumatic stress in conflict-ridden regions.

“…Fifth, the study did not assess exposure to other traumatic events, PTSD, or posttraumatic growth attributed to prior trauma. Future research should consider examining these factors, as they were found to be related to distress during the COVID-19 pandemic (Hamam et al, 2021; Siegel & Lahav, 2021). Finally, as populations continue to be exposed to the COVID-19 threat, future studies should monitor and examine changes over time in individuals’ strategies for coping with the situation and whether elevations in their negative emotional state are sustained, reduced, or exacerbated (Cooke et al, 2020).…”

Childhood Trauma and Mental Health Status in General Population: A Series Mediation Examination of Psychological Distress in COVID-19 Pandemic and Global Sleep Quality

“…This study highlighted that childhood trauma was associated with COVID-19 related psychological distress. A few studies strongly supported that severer childhood trauma prior to the COVID-19 pandemic predicted greater risks of occurring psychological symptoms ( 17 – 19 , 34 , 35 ). One prospective study identified that childhood adverse experiences increased the risk of both psychological distress (ORs = 2.00–2.66) and probable acute stress reaction (ORs = 2.23–3.10) ( 5 ).…”

“…Some previous studies have reported that historical trauma (physical and emotional trauma over the life span and across generations), childhood abuse, and social support were closely related to psychological stress, sleep quality, and emotion regulation during the COVID-19 outbreak ( 17 – 19 ). One study found that psychological stress of COVID-19 mediated the association between childhood trauma and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) global sleep quality ( 18 ).…”