Investigating the relationship between distinctive patterns of emotion regulation, trauma exposure and psychopathology among refugees resettled in Australia: a latent class analysis

Abstract

Background: Emotion regulation difficulties are common among individuals from refugee backgrounds. Little is known, however, about whether there are specific patterns relating to the types of emotion regulation strategies commonly employed by refugees, nor how this relates to psychopathology. Moreover, wider literature on emotion regulation has primarily focused on examining specific emotion regulation strategies in isolation, rather than patterns of emotion regulation across multiple strategies. Objective: The current study was the first to identify individual differences in patterns of habitual emotion regulation among refugees, and explore their unique associations with trauma exposure and PTSD symptoms. Method: Levels of trait reappraisal and suppression were measured among 93 refugees, using the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire and the White Bear Suppression Inventory. A latent class analysis was conducted to identify distinct classes of participants based on differing levels of habitual engagement in reappraisal and suppression. The association between class membership and key variables indexing refugee experiences (e.g. trauma exposure) and psychopathology (e.g. PTSD symptoms and emotion dysregulation) were also examined. Results: Latent class analysis revealed three distinct profiles of habitual emotion regulation: a high regulators class (55.7%; high trait reappraisal/high trait suppression), an adaptive regulators class (23.6%; high trait reappraisal/moderate trait suppression), and a maladaptive regulators class (20.6%; low trait reappraisal/high trait suppression). Each class evidenced unique relations with trauma exposure and psychopathology. Compared to adaptive regulators, maladaptive regulators had more PTSD symptoms, experienced greater emotion dysregulation, and were more likely to be female, while high regulators had experienced more types of traumatic events. Conclusions: This study identified distinct patterns of emotion regulation among refugees. Our findings demonstrate the importance of measuring multiple strategies to uncover patterns of emotion regulation and better understand the links between emotion regulation and psychopathology, which has important implications for the development of effective treatment with traumatized refugees.

Venezuelan Forced Migration to Peru During Sociopolitical Crisis: an Analysis of Perceived Social Support and Emotion Regulation Strategies

“…However, when considering certain diseases, this may vary over time, with a higher prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and cognitive impairment in migrants (Markines and Gerst 2011 ; Markides & Rote, 2015 ). This phenomenon also occurs with regard to mental health (Honkaniemi et al, 2020 ), such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, emotional dysregulation, and psychological distress (Bhugra & Jones, 2001a , 2001b ; Carroll et al, 2020 ; Honkaniemi et al, 2020 ; Kuo 2014 ; Specker & Nickerson, 2019 ; Virgincar et al, 2016 ). In this paradox, although residence time is considered an important element for health, as mentioned, there is conflicting evidence as regards mental health (Dunn and Dyck 2000 ; Laroche, 2000).…”

“…In migrants residing in the Netherlands, suppression under certain contexts (e.g., positive and negative emotional manifestations during interactions with family and unknown people) was found to be a significant mediator of higher emotional suppression and low well-being (Stupar et al 2014 ). In Australia, refugees with emotion regulation difficulties reported greater PTSD symptoms and emotion dysregulation strategies compared to emotionally regulated refugees (Specker & Nickerson, 2019 ). Emotion regulation can also be conceptualized as a transdiagnostic factor because of its associations and predictive ties to depression, PTSD symptoms, anxiety, and insomnia in Afghan refugees exposed to trauma (Koch et al 2020 ).…”

An experimental investigation of spontaneous emotion regulation variability, negative affect, and posttraumatic stress disorder among traumatized refugees.

“…This association between greater ER variability and better psychological functioning is consistent with past survey-based research. Eftekhari et al (2009) and Specker and Nickerson (2019) both found that more variable ER repertoires-among female undergraduate students and adult refugees, respectively-were associated with lower PTSD symptom severity. As the first experimental investigation of ER repertoires, our study additionally found that greater ER variability was associated with lower distress immediately following trauma-related stressors.…”

COVID-19 pandemic and health worker stress: The mediating effect of emotional regulation

“…In addition, previous research with refugees or people who were exposed to traumatic situations indicates that the use of emotion suppression strategies predicts the development of post-traumatic symptoms and increases the likelihood of developing mental problems in the future [58]. Furthermore, some studies suggest that emotion suppression is an aggravating factor in the effects of traumatic experience [59].…”